Sample records for nonlinear reaction mechanism

under varied oxidative and reducing media is pivotal in their applications as ... communication, we report the complex mechanism of the reaction between nile blue ... Both the instruments were interfaced for data storage and have ..... The authors acknowledge the financial support received from the University of Durban-.

Pure polycrystalline MnTeMoO{sub 6} is highly desirable to crystal growth. Polycrystalline MnTeMoO{sub 6} has been synthesized by solid-state reaction techniques. The optimized preparation process, phase purity and reactionmechanism of polycrystalline MnTeMoO{sub 6} were investigated. The reaction will be paused if the atoms cannot pass through the grain boundary and restarted after ground intimately. A new method combined with X-ray diffraction and microscopic observation is employed to determine the phase purity of polycrystalline MnTeMoO{sub 6}. Pure polycrystalline MnTeMoO{sub 6} with gray color and single crystalline phase can be obtained after the reactant was calcined at 500 C for 20 h three times and can be used to crystal growth. This method for determining the phase purity of powder sample can be used in the synthesis of other polycrystalline powders. (orig.)

An earlier paper characterizing the linear mechanical response of the organ of Corti [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 138, 1102-1121 (2015)] is extended to the nonlinear domain. Assuming the existence of nonlinear oscillators nonlocally coupled through the pressure they help create, the oscillator equations are derived and examined when the stimuli are modulated tones and clicks. The nonlinearities are constrained by the requirements of oscillator stability and the invariance of zero crossings in the click response to changes in click amplitude. The nonlinear oscillator equations for tones are solved in terms of the fluid pressure that drives them, and its time derivative, presumably a proxy for forces created by outer hair cells. The pressure equation is reduced to quadrature, the integrand depending on the oscillators' responses. The resulting nonlocally coupled nonlinear equations for the pressure, and oscillator amplitudes and phases, are solved numerically in terms of the fluid pressure at the stapes. Methods for determining the nonlinear damping directly from measurements are described. Once the oscillators have been characterized from their tone and click responses, the mechanical response of the cochlea to natural sounds may be computed numerically. Signal processing inspired by cochlear mechanics opens up a new area of nonlocal nonlinear time-frequency analysis.

Full Text Available The nonlinearmechanism of long gravitational surface water wave generation by high-frequency bottom oscillations in a water layer of constant depth is investigated analytically. The connection between the surface wave amplitude and the parameters of bottom oscillations and source length is investigated.

This brief presents numerical methods for describing and calculating invariant phase space structures, as well as solving the classical and quantum equations of motion for polyatomic molecules. Examples covered include simple model systems to realistic cases of molecules spectroscopically studied. Vibrationally excited and reacting molecules are nonlinear dynamical systems, and thus, nonlinearmechanics is the proper theory to elucidate molecular dynamics by investigating invariant structures in phase space. Intramolecular energy transfer, and the breaking and forming of a chemical bond have now found a rigorous explanation by studying phase space structures.

We show how an important class of nonlinear feedback controllers can be designed using idealized abstract chemical reactions and implemented via DNA strand displacement (DSD) reactions. Exploiting chemical reaction networks (CRNs) as a programming language for the design of complex circuits and networks, we show how a set of unimolecular and bimolecular reactions can be used to realize input-output dynamics that produce a nonlinear quasi sliding mode (QSM) feedback controller. The kinetics of the required chemical reactions can then be implemented as enzyme-free, enthalpy/entropy driven DNA reactions using a toehold mediated strand displacement mechanism via Watson-Crick base pairing and branch migration. We demonstrate that the closed loop response of the nonlinear QSM controller outperforms a traditional linear controller by facilitating much faster tracking response dynamics without introducing overshoots in the transient response. The resulting controller is highly modular and is less affected by retroactivity effects than standard linear designs.

Nonlinear phenomena should play a crucial role in the design and control of engineering systems and structures as they can drastically change the prevailing dynamical responses. This book covers theoretical and applications-based problems of nonlinear dynamics concerned with both discrete and continuous systems of interest in civil and mechanical engineering. They include pendulum-like systems, slender footbridges, shape memory alloys, sagged elastic cables and non-smooth problems. Pendulums can be used as a dynamic absorber mounted in high buildings, bridges or chimneys. Geometrical nonlinear

Full Text Available We present a model describing population dynamics in an environment. The model is a nonlinear, nonlocal, reaction diffusion equation with Neumann boundary conditions. An inverse method, involving minimization of a least-squares cost functional, is developed to identify unknown model parameters. Finally, numerical results are presented which display estimates of these parameters using computationally generated data.

This paper explores different nonlinear control schemes, applied to a simple model reaction. The model is the Salnikov model, consisting of two ordinary differential equations. The control strategies investigated are I/O-linearisation, Exact linearisation, exact linearisation combined with LQR...... and Control Lyapunov Functions (CLF's). The results show that based on the lowest possible cost function and shortest settling time, the exact linearisation performs marginally better than the other methods....

Provides a collection of data on the mechanistic aspects of inorganic chemical reactions. Wherever possible includes procedures for classroom demonstration or student project work. The material covered includes gas phase reactions, reactions in solution, mechanisms of electron transfer, the reaction between iron III and iodine, and hydrolysis. (GS)

The study of travelling waves or fronts has become an essential part of the mathematical analysis of nonlinear diffusion-convection-reaction processes. Whether or not a nonlinear second-order scalar reaction-convection-diffusion equation admits a travelling-wave solution can be determined by the stu

A transparent material exhibits ultra-fast optical nonlinearity and is subject to optical pressure if irradiated by a laser beam. However, the effect of nonlinearity on optical pressure is often overlooked, even if a nonlinear optical pressure may be potentially employed in many applications, as optical manipulation, biophysics, cavity optomechanics, quantum optics, optical tractors, and is relevant in fundamental problems as the Abraham-Minkoswky dilemma, or the Casimir effect. Here we show that an ultra-fast nonlinear polarization gives indeed a contribution to the optical pressure that also is negative in certain spectral ranges; the theoretical analysis is confirmed by first-principles simulations. An order of magnitude estimate shows that the effect can be observable by measuring the deflection of a membrane made by graphene.

Chemical processes in many fields of science and technology, including combustion, atmospheric chemistry, environmental modelling, process engineering, and systems biology, can be described by detailed reactionmechanisms consisting of numerous reaction steps. This book describes methods for the analysis of reactionmechanisms that are applicable in all these fields. Topics addressed include: how sensitivity and uncertainty analyses allow the calculation of the overall uncertainty of simulation results and the identification of the most important input parameters, the ways in which mechanisms can be reduced without losing important kinetic and dynamic detail, and the application of reduced models for more accurate engineering optimizations. This monograph is invaluable for researchers and engineers dealing with detailed reactionmechanisms, but is also useful for graduate students of related courses in chemistry, mechanical engineering, energy and environmental science and biology.

We study the steady state motion of a single trapped ion oscillator driven to the nonlinear regime. Damping is achieved via Doppler laser-cooling. The ion motion is found to be well described by the Duffing oscillator model with an additional nonlinear damping term. We demonstrate a unique ability of tuning both the linear as well as the nonlinear damping coefficients by controlling the cooling laser parameters. Our observations open a way for the investigation of nonlinear dynamics on the quantum-to-classical interface as well as mechanical noise squeezing in laser-cooling dynamics.

The currently existing theory of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy(FCS) is based on the linear fluctuation theory originally developed by Einstein, Onsager, Lax, and others as a phenomenological approach to equilibrium fluctuations in bulk solutions. For mesoscopic reaction-diffusion systems with nonlinear chemical reactions among a small number of molecules, a situation often encountered in single-cell biochemistry, it is expected that FCS time correlation functions of a reaction-diffusion system can deviate from the classic results of Elson and Magde. We first discuss this nonlinear effect for reaction systems without diffusion. For nonlinear stochastic reaction-diffusion systems here are no closed solutions; therefore, stochastic Monte-Carlo simulations are carried out. We show that the deviation is small for a simple bimolecular reaction; the most significant deviations occur when the number of molecules is small and of the same order. Our results show that current linear FCS theory could be adequate ...

A class of nonlinear predator-prey reaction diffusion systems for singularly perturbedproblems are considered. Under suitable conditions, by using theory of differential inequalitiesthe existence and asymptotic behavior of solution for initial boundary value problems arestudied.

Two main mechanisms, pharmacologic and immunoallergic, are responsible for cutaneous reactions to drugs. Pharmacologic mechanisms can be predictable (overdosage, cumulative or delayed toxicity, adverse effects) or unpredictable (idiosyncratic, intolerance, or anaphylactic reaction). Immunoallergic mechanisms can be mediated by IgE (some types of urticaria and anaphylactic shock), due to circulating immune complexes (leukocytoclastic vasculitis, serum sickness-type reactions) or mediated by lymphocytes (exanthema, Lyell's syndrome, fixed pigmented erythema, photosensitization). The diagnostic work-up varies according to the causative mechanism. When the reaction is predictable, the responsible drug can be identified according to the data in the present bibliography. When the reaction is immunologic, only the chronologic sequence of events can identify the responsible drug. The risk of recurrence with an identical or related molecule also varies according to the causative mechanism. For urticaria, diagnosis and the risk of recurrence differ according to whether the cause is allergic (mediated by IgE or urticarial vasculitis) or is pharmacologic (urticaria due to aspirin or to conversion enzyme inhibitors).

Full Text Available An important problem in applied science is the continuous nonlinear filtering problem, i.e., the estimation of a Langevin state that is observed indirectly. In this paper, it is shown that Euclidean quantum mechanics is closely related to the continuous nonlinear filtering problem. The key is the configuration space Feynman path integral representation of the fundamental solution of a Fokker-Planck type of equation termed the Yau Equation of continuous-continuous filtering. A corollary is the equivalence between nonlinear filtering problem and a time-varying Schr¨odinger equation.

The currently existing theory of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is based on the linear fluctuation theory originally developed by Einstein, Onsager, Lax, and others as a phenomenological approach to equilibrium fluctuations in bulk solutions. For mesoscopic reaction-diffusion systems with nonlinear chemical reactions among a small number of molecules, a situation often encountered in single-cell biochemistry, it is expected that FCS time correlation functions of a reaction-diffusion system can deviate from the classic results of Elson and Magde [Biopolymers (1974) 13:1-27]. We first discuss this nonlinear effect for reaction systems without diffusion. For nonlinear stochastic reaction-diffusion systems there are no closed solutions; therefore, stochastic Monte-Carlo simulations are carried out. We show that the deviation is small for a simple bimolecular reaction; the most significant deviations occur when the number of molecules is small and of the same order. Extending Delbrück-Gillespie’s theory for stochastic nonlinearreactions with rapidly stirring to reaction-diffusion systems provides a mesoscopic model for chemical and biochemical reactions at nanometric and mesoscopic level such as a single biological cell.

Advanced computational methods in nonlinearmechanics of solids and fluids are dealt with in this volume. Contributions consider large deformations of structures and solids, problems in nonlinear dynamics, aspects of earthquake analysis, coupled problems, convection-dominated phenomena, and compressible and incompressible viscous flows. Selected applications indicate the relevance of the analysis to the demands of industry and science. The contributors are from research institutions well-known for their work in this field.

We present a flexible nonlinearreaction coordinate analysis method for the transition path ensemble based on the likelihood maximization approach developed by Peters and Trout [J. Chem. Phys. 125, 054108 (2006)] . By parametrizing the reaction coordinate by a string of images in a collective variab

Attempts have been made to look for the soliton content in the solutions of the recently studied nonlinear diffusion-reaction equations [R S Kaushal, J. Phys. 38, 3897 (2005)] involving quadratic or cubic nonlinearities in addition to the convective flux term which renders the system nonconservative and the corresponding Hamiltonian non-Hermitian.

Precision measurement of nonlinear observables is an important goal in all facets of quantum optics. This allows measurement-based non-classical state preparation, which has been applied to great success in various physical systems, and provides a route for quantum information processing...... with otherwise linear interactions. In cavity optomechanics much progress has been made using linear interactions and measurement, but observation of nonlinearmechanical degrees-of-freedom remains outstanding. Here we report the observation of displacement-squared thermal motion of a micro-mechanical resonator...... by exploiting the intrinsic nonlinearity of the radiation-pressure interaction. Using this measurement we generate bimodal mechanical states of motion with separations and feature sizes well below 100 pm. Future improvements to this approach will allow the preparation of quantum superposition states, which can...

Full Text Available Quantifying signal transmission in biochemical systems is key to uncover the mechanisms that cells use to control their responses to environmental stimuli. In this work we use the time-integral of chemical species as a measure of a network's ability to cumulatively transmit signals encoded in spatiotemporal concentrations. We identify a class of nonlinearreaction-diffusion networks in which the time-integrals of some species can be computed analytically. The derived time-integrals do not require knowledge of the solution of the reaction-diffusion equation, and we provide a simple graphical test to check if a given network belongs to the proposed class. The formulae for the time-integrals reveal how the kinetic parameters shape signal transmission in a network under spatiotemporal stimuli. We use these to show that a canonical complex-formation mechanism behaves as a spatial low-pass filter, the bandwidth of which is inversely proportional to the diffusion length of the ligand.

Statistical mechanics of the discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation is studied by means of analytical and numerical techniques. The lower bound of the Hamiltonian permits the construction of standard Gibbsian equilibrium measures for positive temperatures. Beyond the line of T = infinity, we identify a phase transition through a discontinuity in the partition function. The phase transition is demonstrated to manifest itself in the creation of breatherlike localized excitations. Interrelation between the statistical mechanics and the nonlinear dynamics of the system is explored numerically in both regimes.

We investigate theoretically in detail the nonlinear effects in the response of an optical/microwave cavity coupled to a Duffing mechanical resonator. The cavity is driven by a laser at a red or blue mechanical subband, and a probe laser measures the reflection close to the cavity resonance. Under these conditions, we find that the cavity exhibits optomechanically induced reflection (OMIR) or absorption (OMIA) and investigate the optomechanical response in the limit of nonlinear driving of the mechanics. Similar to linear mechanical drive, in an overcoupled cavity the red sideband drive may lead to both OMIA and OMIR depending on the strength of the drive, whereas the blue sideband drive only leads to OMIR. The dynamics of the phase of the mechanical resonator leads to the difference between the shapes of the response of the cavity and the amplitude response of the driven Duffing oscillator, for example, at weak red sideband drive the OMIA dip has no inflection point. We also verify that mechanicalnonlinearities beyond Duffing model have little effect on the size of the OMIA dip though they affect the width of the dip.

It is essential to extract nonlinear dynamics from time-series data as an inverse problem in natural sciences. We propose a Bayesian statistical framework for extracting nonlinear dynamics of surface heterogeneous reactions from sparse and noisy observable data. Surface heterogeneous reactions are chemical reactions with conjugation of multiple phases, and they have the intrinsic nonlinearity of their dynamics caused by the effect of surface-area between different phases. We adapt a belief propagation method and an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to partial observation problem, in order to simultaneously estimate the time course of hidden variables and the kinetic parameters underlying dynamics. The proposed belief propagation method is performed by using sequential Monte Carlo algorithm in order to estimate nonlinear dynamical system. Using our proposed method, we show that the rate constants of dissolution and precipitation reactions, which are typical examples of surface heterogeneous reactions, as well as the temporal changes of solid reactants and products, were successfully estimated only from the observable temporal changes in the concentration of the dissolved intermediate product.

The Turing instability is studied in two-component reaction-diffusion systems with nonlinear diffusion terms, and the regions in parametric space where Turing patterns can form are determined. The boundaries between super- and subcritical bifurcations are found. Calculations are performed for one-dimensional brusselator and oregonator models.

We give an application of the Crandall-Rabinowitz theorem on local bifurcation to a system of nonlinear parabolic equations with nonlocal reaction and cross-diffusion terms as well as nonlocal initial conditions. The system arises as steady-state equations of two interacting age-structured populations.

Using the auxiliary equation method, we obtain exact solutions of certain nonlinear chemotaxis diffusion reaction equations in the presence of a stimulant. In particular, we account for the nonlinearities arising not only from the density-dependent source terms contributed by the particles and the stimulant but also from the coupling term of the stimulant. In addition to this, the diffusion of the stimulant and the effect of long-range interactions are also accounted for in theconstructed coupled differential equations. The results obtained here could be useful in the studies of several biological systems and processes, e.g., in bacterial infection, chemotherapy, etc.

A mechanism for fast magnetic reconnection in collisionless plasma is studied for understanding sawtooth collapse in tokamak discharges. Nonlinear growth of the tearing mode driven by electron inertia is analytically estimated by invoking the energy principle for the first time. Decrease of potential energy in the nonlinear regime (where the island width exceeds the electron skin depth) is found to be steeper than in the linear regime, resulting in acceleration of the reconnection. Release of free energy by such ideal fluid motion leads to unsteady and strong convective flow, which theoretically corroborates the inertia-driven collapse model of the sawtooth crash [D. Biskamp and J. F. Drake, Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 971 (1994)].

The mechanics of electromagnetic materials and structures has been developing rapidly with extensive applications in, e. g. , electronics industry, nuclear engineering, and smart materials and structures. Researchers in this interdisciplinary field are with diverse background and motivation. The Symposium on the Mechanics of Electromagnetic Materials and Structures of the Fourth International Conference on NonlinearMechanics in Shanghai, China in August 13-16, 2002 provided an opportunity for an intimate gathering of researchers and exchange of ideas. This volume contains papers based on most of the presentations at the symposium, and articles from a few invited contributors. These papers reflect some of the recent activities in the mechanics of electromagnetic materials and structures. The first twelve papers are in the order in which they were listed in the program of the conference. These are followed by six invited papers in alphabetical order of the last names of the first authors. We would like to exte...

Physically motivated modified Fisher equations are studied in which nonlinear convection and nonlinear diffusion is allowed for besides the usual growth and spread of a population. It is pointed out that in a large variety of cases separable functions in the form of exponentially decaying sharp wavefronts solve the differential equation exactly provided a co-moving point source or sink is active at the wavefront. The velocity dispersion and front steepness may differ from those of some previously studied exact smooth traveling wave solutions. For an extension of the reaction-diffusion-convection equation, featuring a memory effect in the form of a maturity delay for growth and spread, also smooth exact wavefront solutions are obtained. The stability of the solutions is verified analytically and numerically.

This elegant book presents a rigorous introduction to the theory of nonlinearmechanics and chaos. It turns out that many simple mechanical systems suffer from a peculiar malady. They are deterministic in the sense that their motion can be described with partial differential equations, but these equations have no proper solutions and the behavior they describe can be wildly unpredictable. This is implicit in Newtonian physics, and although it was analyzed in the pioneering work of Poincaré in the 19th century, its full significance has only been realized since the advent of modern computing. This book follows this development in the context of classical mechanics as it is usually taught in most graduate programs in physics. It starts with the seminal work of Laplace, Hamilton, and Liouville in the early 19th century and shows how their formulation of mechanics inevitably leads to systems that cannot be 'solved' in the usual sense of the word. It then discusses perturbation theory which, rather than providing...

In this paper the arduous attempt to find a mathematical solution for the nonlinear autocatalytic chemical processes with a time-varying and oscillating inflow of reactant to the reaction medium has been taken. Approximate analytical solution is proposed. Numerical solutions and analytical attempts to solve the non-linear differential equation indicates a phase shift between the oscillatory influx of intermediate reaction reagent to the medium of chemical reaction and the change of its concentration in this medium. Analytical solutions indicate that this shift may be associated with the reaction rate constants 1 and 2 and the relaxation time . The relationship between the phase shift and the oscillatory flow of reactant seems to be similar to that obtained in the case of linear chemical reactions, as described previously, however, the former is much more complex and different. In this paper, we would like to consider whether the effect of forced phase shift in the case of nonlinear and non-oscillatory chemical processes occurring particularly in the living systems have a practical application in laboratory.

Serious adverse effects of transfusion may be immunologically or non-immunologically mediated. Currently, bacterial contamination of blood products, particularly platelets, is one of the most significant causes of transfusion-related morbidity and mortality. Septic transfusion reactions can present with clinical symptoms similar to immune-mediated hemolytic transfusion reactions and transfusion-related acute lung injury. Extremely high fever and/or gastrointestinal symptoms, in a transfusion recipient, may be indicative of sepsis. The diagnosis is based upon culturing the same organism from both the patient and the transfused blood component. Numerous organisms have been implicated as the cause of septic transfusion reactions. Due to different storage conditions, gram negative organisms are more often isolated from red blood cell components; gram positive organisms are more often isolated from platelets. Prevention of septic transfusion reactions is primarily dependent on an adequate donor history and meticulous preparation of the donor phlebotomy site. Visual inspection of blood components prior to transfusion is also vital to preventing these reactions. Several methods of detection of bacterial contamination and inactivation of pathogens are currently under active investigation.

Advocates teaching of organic reactionmechanisms through the methods which are used in elucidating them. This also provides a useful way of illustrating the theories and methods of physical chemistry. Describes an approach to teaching three reactionmechanisms: substitution in alkanes; addition to alkenes; and ester hydrolysis. (Author/GA)

Kinetics of reaction between Na2S2O3 and peroxide compound ( H2O2 or Na2S2O8) in a batch reactor and in a continuous stirring tank reactor (CSTR) were studied.Steady oscillations in uncatalyzed reactions in a CSTR were first discovered.In Na2S2O3-H2O2-H2SO4 reaction system,Pt potential and pH of higher and lower flow rutes beyond oscillation flow rates were in around the same extreme values.The reaction catalyeed by Cu2+ corsist of the catalyzed oscillation process and the uncatalyzed osciliation one.On the basis of experiment,a reactionmechanism consisting of three stages was put forward.The three stages are H positive-feedback reactions,proton negative-feedba k (uncatalyzed negative-feedback and catalyzed negative-feedback) reactions and transitional reactions.The mechanism is able to explain reasonably the nonlinear chemical phenomena appearing in the thiosulfatc oxidation reaction by peroxide-compounds.

This important book deals with vibrational mechanics - the new, intensively developing section of nonlinear dynamics and the theory of nonlinear oscillations. It offers a general approach to the study of the effect of vibration on nonlinearmechanical systems.The book presents the mathematical apparatus of vibrational mechanics which is used to describe such nonlinear effects as the disappearance and appearance under vibration of stable positions of equilibrium and motions (i.e. attractors), the change of the rheological properties of the media, self-synchronization, self-balancing, the vibrat

DNA photolyase uses visible light and a fully reduced flavin cofactor FADH(-) to repair major UV-induced lesions in DNA, the cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs). Electron transfer from photoexcited FADH(-) to CPD, splitting of the two intradimer bonds, and back electron transfer to the transiently formed flavin radical FADH° occur in overall 1ns. Whereas the kinetics of FADH° was resolved, the DNA-based intermediates escaped unambiguous detection yet. Another light reaction, named photoactivation, reduces catalytically inactive FADH° to FADH(-) without implication of DNA. It involves electron hopping along a chain of three tryptophan residues in 30ps, as elucidated in detail by transient absorption spectroscopy. The same triple tryptophan chain is found in cryptochrome blue-light photoreceptors and may be involved in their primary photoreaction.

The International Conference on Differential Equations and NonlinearMechanics was hosted by the University of Central Florida in Orlando from March 17-19, 1999. One of the conference days was dedicated to Professor V. Lakshmikantham in th honor of his 75 birthday. 50 well established professionals (in differential equations, nonlinear analysis, numerical analysis, and nonlinearmechanics) attended the conference from 13 countries. Twelve of the attendees delivered hour long invited talks and remaining thirty-eight presented invited forty-five minute talks. In each of these talks, the focus was on the recent developments in differential equations and nonlinearmechanics and their applications. This book consists of 29 papers based on the invited lectures, and I believe that it provides a good selection of advanced topics of current interest in differential equations and nonlinearmechanics. I am indebted to the Department of Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Mechanical, Materials and Ae...

The copper-mediated aromatic nucleophilic substitution reactions developed by Fritz Ullmann and Irma Goldberg required stoichiometric amounts of copper and very high reaction temperatures. Recently, it was found that addition of relatively cheap ligands (diamines, aminoalcohols, diketones, diols) made these reactions truly catalytic, with catalyst amounts as low as 1 mol% or even lower. Since these catalysts are homogeneous, it has opened up the possibility to investigate the mechanism of the...

This monograph describes the numerical analysis of non-linearities in structural mechanics, i.e. large rotations, large strain (geometric non-linearities), non-linear material behaviour, in particular elasto-plasticity as well as time-dependent behaviour, and contact. Based on that, the book treats stability problems and limit-load analyses, as well as non-linear equations of a large number of variables. Moreover, the author presents a wide range of problem sets and their solutions. The target audience primarily comprises advanced undergraduate and graduate students of mechanical and civil engineering, but the book may also be beneficial for practising engineers in industry.

For the investigation of chemical reaction networks, the efficient and accurate determination of all relevant intermediates and elementary reactions is inevitable. The complexity of such a network may grow rapidly, in particular if reactive species are involved that might cause a myriad of side reactions. Without automation, a complete investigation of complex reactionmechanisms is tedious and possibly unfeasible. Therefore, only the expected dominant reaction paths of a chemical reaction network (e.g., a catalytic cycle or an enzymatic cascade) are usually explored in practice. Here, we present a computational protocol that constructs such networks in a parallelized and automated manner. Molecular structures of reactive complexes are generated based on heuristic rules and subsequently optimized by electronic-structure methods. Pairs of reactive complexes related by an elementary reaction are then automatically detected and subjected to an automated search for the connecting transition state. The results are...

The mechanism of the SN2 reaction is fundamental to understanding and controlling the stereochemistry of organic reactions, but surrounding solvent molecules may complicate the textbook picture. Micro-solvation studies have now explored the stereochemical consequences of the presence of one or two solvent molecules.

nature of reactionmechanism in organic chemistry as to whether it can be .... The graduate assistant, chemistry teacher and final year chemistry students were .... Rollnick (3), Sykes (10), and Bhattacharyya and Bodner (11) on these issues ...

The book first introduces the concept of nonlinear normal modes (NNMs) and their two main definitions. The fundamental differences between classical linear normal modes (LNMs) and NNMs are explained and illustrated using simple examples. Different methods for computing NNMs from a mathematical model are presented. Both advanced analytical and numerical methods are described. Particular attention is devoted to the invariant manifold and normal form theories. The book also discusses nonlinear system identification.

The gas-phase reactionmechanism of -acylhydroxamate with cysteine proteases has been investigated using ab initio and density functional theory. On the irreversible process, after breakdown of tetrahedral intermediate (INT1), small 1-2 anionotropic has been formed and rearranged to give stable by-products sulfenamide (P1) and thiocarbamate (P2) with considerable energy loss. While, on the reversible part of this reactionmechanism, intermediate (INT2) breaks down on oxidation, to form a stable product (P3). Topological and AIM analyses have been performed for hydrogen bonded complex in this reaction profile. Intrinsic reaction coordinates [IRC, minimum-energy path (MEP)] calculation connects the transition state between R-INT1, INT1-P1 and INT1-P2. The products P1, P2 and P3 are energetically more stable than the reactant and hence the reaction enthalpy is found to be exothermic.

For the investigation of chemical reaction networks, the efficient and accurate determination of all relevant intermediates and elementary reactions is mandatory. The complexity of such a network may grow rapidly, in particular if reactive species are involved that might cause a myriad of side reactions. Without automation, a complete investigation of complex reactionmechanisms is tedious and possibly unfeasible. Therefore, only the expected dominant reaction paths of a chemical reaction network (e.g., a catalytic cycle or an enzymatic cascade) are usually explored in practice. Here, we present a computational protocol that constructs such networks in a parallelized and automated manner. Molecular structures of reactive complexes are generated based on heuristic rules derived from conceptual electronic-structure theory and subsequently optimized by quantum-chemical methods to produce stable intermediates of an emerging reaction network. Pairs of intermediates in this network that might be related by an elementary reaction according to some structural similarity measure are then automatically detected and subjected to an automated search for the connecting transition state. The results are visualized as an automatically generated network graph, from which a comprehensive picture of the mechanism of a complex chemical process can be obtained that greatly facilitates the analysis of the whole network. We apply our protocol to the Schrock dinitrogen-fixation catalyst to study alternative pathways of catalytic ammonia production.

Full Text Available There are two very important subjects in physics: Symmetry of dynamical models and nonlinearity. All really fundamental models are invariant under some particular symmetry groups. There is also no true physics, no our Universe and life at all, without nonlinearity. Particularly interesting are essential, non-perturbative nonlinearities which are not described by correction terms imposed on some well-defined linear background. Our idea in this paper is that there exists some mysterious, still incomprehensible link between essential, physically relevant nonlinearity and dynamical symmetry, first of all, of large symmetry groups. In some sense the problem is known even in soliton theory, where the essential nonlinearity is often accompanied by the infinite system of integrals of motion, thus, by infinite-dimensional symmetry groups. Here we discuss some more familiar problems from the realm of field theory, condensed matter physics, and analytical mechanics, where the link between essential nonlinearity and high symmetry is obvious, although not fully understandable.

A review of the current state of our understanding of complete fusion reactionmechanisms is presented, from the perspective of an experimentalist. For complete fusion reactions, the overall uncertainties in predicting heavy element synthesis cross sections are examined in terms of the uncertainties associated with the calculations of capture cross sections, fusion probabilities and survival probabilities.

The copper-mediated aromatic nucleophilic substitution reactions developed by Fritz Ullmann and Irma Goldberg required stoichiometric amounts of copper and very high reaction temperatures. Recently, it was found that addition of relatively cheap ligands (diamines, aminoalcohols, diketones, diols) made these reactions truly catalytic, with catalyst amounts as low as 1 mol% or even lower. Since these catalysts are homogeneous, it has opened up the possibility to investigate the mechanism of these modified Ullmann reactions. Most authors agree that Cu(I) is the true catalyst even though Cu(0) and Cu(II) catalysts have also shown to be active. It should be noted however that Cu(I) is capable of reversible disproportionation into Cu(0) and Cu(II). In the first step, the nucleophile displaces the halide in the LnCu(I)X complex forming LnCu(I)ZR (Z = O, NR′, S). Quite a number of mechanisms have been proposed for the actual reaction of this complex with the aryl halide: 1. Oxidative addition of ArX forming a Cu(III) intermediate followed by reductive elimination; 2. Sigma bond metathesis; in this mechanism copper remains in the Cu(II) oxidation state; 3. Single electron transfer (SET) in which a radical anion of the aryl halide is formed (Cu(I)/Cu(II)); 4. Iodine atom transfer (IAT) to give the aryl radical (Cu(I)/Cu(II)); 5. π-complexation of the aryl halide with the Cu(I) complex, which is thought to enable the nucleophilic substitution reaction. Initially, the radical type mechanisms 3 and 4 where discounted based on the fact that radical clock-type experiments with ortho-allyl aryl halides failed to give the cyclised products. However, a recent DFT study by Houk, Buchwald and co-workers shows that the modified Ullmann reaction between aryl iodide and amines or primary alcohols proceeds either via an SET or an IAT mechanism. Van Koten has shown that stalled aminations can be rejuvenated by the addition of Cu(0), which serves to reduce the formed Cu(II) to Cu

The purpose of this series is to provide a continuing critical review of the literature concerned with mechanistic aspects of inorganic and organo­ metallic reactions in solution, with coverage being complete in each volume. The papers discussed are selected on the basis of relevance to the elucidation of reactionmechanisms and many include results of a nonkinetic nature when useful mechanistic information can be deduced. The period of literature covered by this volume is July 1982 through December 1983, and in some instances papers not available for inclusion in the previous volume are also included. Numerical results are usually reported in the units used by the original authors, except where data from different papers are com­ pared and conversion to common units is necessary. As in previous volumes material included covers the major areas of redox processes, reactions of the nonmetallic elements, reaction of inert and labile metal complexes and the reactions of organometallic compounds. While m...

The application of the finite element method to nonlinear solid mechanics problems results in the neccessity to repeatedly solve a large nonlinear set of equations. In this paper we limit ourself to problems arising in constrained solid mechanics problems. It is common to apply some variant of Newton?s method or a Newton? Krylov method to such problems. Often, an analytic Jacobian matrix is formed and used in the above mentioned methods. However, if no analytic Jacobian is given, Newton metho...

The book collects the most relevant results from the INdAM Workshop "Shocks, Singularities and Oscillations in Nonlinear Optics and Fluid Mechanics" held in Rome, September 14-18, 2015. The contributions discuss recent major advances in the study of nonlinear hyperbolic systems, addressing general theoretical issues such as symmetrizability, singularities, low regularity or dispersive perturbations. It also investigates several physical phenomena where such systems are relevant, such as nonlinear optics, shock theory (stability, relaxation) and fluid mechanics (boundary layers, water waves, Euler equations, geophysical flows, etc.). It is a valuable resource for researchers in these fields. .

The spectrum of frequencies and mode shapes for an inviscid drop on a planar substrate have recently been documented. For vertical excitation, zonal modes respond to the driving frequency harmonically and non-zonal modes subharmonically, consistent with the prior literature. In this study, we report observations from the regime of nonlinear response. Here, zonals can respond non-harmonically, both sub- and super-harmonic responses are reported. The principal challenge to generating and observing superharmonic resonances of higher zonal modes is a mode-mixing behavior. However, using a simple visual simulation based on the ray-tracing technique, the individual contributions to the mixed resonance behavior can be extracted. In summary, results from experiment and theory show that the zonal modes, which respond harmonically and can mix with non-zonal modes without interfering with one another in the linear regime, tend to respond sub- or superharmonically and compete with non-zonal modes in the nonlinear regime.

Nonlinear variants of quantum mechanics can solve tasks that are impossible in standard quantum theory, such as perfectly distinguishing nonorthogonal states. Here we derive the optimal protocol for distinguishing two states of a qubit using the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, a model of nonlinear quantum mechanics that arises as an effective description of Bose-Einstein condensates. Using this protocol, we present an algorithm for unstructured search in the Gross-Pitaevskii model, obtaining an exponential improvement over a previous algorithm of Meyer and Wong. This result establishes a limitation on the effectiveness of the Gross-Pitaevskii approximation. More generally, we demonstrate similar behavior under a family of related nonlinearities, giving evidence that the ability to quickly discriminate nonorthogonal states and thereby solve unstructured search is a generic feature of nonlinear quantum mechanics.

This report summarizes the key continuum mechanics concepts required for the systematic prescription and numerical solution of finite deformation solid mechanics problems. Topics surveyed include measures of deformation appropriate for media undergoing large deformations, stress measures appropriate for such problems, balance laws and their role in nonlinear continuum mechanics, the role of frame indifference in description of large deformation response, and the extension of these theories to encompass two dimensional idealizations, structural idealizations, and rigid body behavior. There are three companion reports that describe the problem formulation, constitutive modeling, and finite element technology for nonlinear continuum mechanics systems.

A multiple-scale method of averaging is applied to the study of transport of a chemical species in oscillatory Couette flow where the species may undergoes a reversible phase exchange with the boundary wall and nonlinear chemical reactions both within the fluid and at the boundary wall. Analytical expressions are obtained for transport coefficients. The results shows how the transport coefficients are influenced by the reversible phase exchange reaction kinetics and the rate and degree of the nonlinear decay chemical reaction.

We present numerical techniques based on generalized functions adapted to nonlinear calculations. They concern main numerical engineering problems ruled by-or issued from-nonlinear equations of continuum mechanics. The aim of this text is to invite the readers in applying these techniques in their own work without significant prerequisites by presenting their use on a sample of elementary applications from engineering. Pure mathematicians can read it easily since the numerical techniques are ...

In 1953, G.I.~Taylor published his landmark paper concerning the transport of a contaminant dissolved in a fluid flowing through a pipe of narrow diameter. He demonstrated that an interaction between the transverse variations in the fluid's velocity field and the transverse diffusion of the solute yielded an effective downstream mixing mechanism for the transverse average of the solute. This mechanism has since been dubbed ``Taylor Dispersion.'' Since his original publication, many related studies have surfaced. These include generalizations of channel geometry, generalizations of the velocity field (including turbulent field), applications to sedimentation problems, etc. However, much less attention has been given to the effects of nonlinear chemical reactions upon a system of solutes undergoing Taylor Dispersion. We present a rigorous mathematical model for the evolution of the transverse averages of reacting solutes that travel within a fluid flowing down a pipe of arbitrary cross-section. The technique for deriving this model is a generalization of a multiple scales perturbation approach described by P.C.~Fife for linear (reactionless) problems. The key outcome is that while one still finds an effective mechanism for downstream mixing, but also there is also a effective mechanism for nonlinear advection.

Nonlinear effects are omnipresent in thin films of ion conducting materials showing up as a significant increase of the conductivity. For a disordered hopping model general physical mechanisms are identified giving rise to the occurrence of positive or negative nonlinear effects, respectively. Analytical results are obtained in the limit of high but finite dimensions. They are compared with the numerical results for 3D up to 6D systems. A very good agreement can be found, in particular for higher dimensions. The results can also be used to rationalize previous numerical simulations. The implications for the interpretation of nonlinear conductivity experiments on inorganic ion conductors are discussed.

ReactionMechanism Generator (RMG) constructs kinetic models composed of elementary chemical reaction steps using a general understanding of how molecules react. Species thermochemistry is estimated through Benson group additivity and reaction rate coefficients are estimated using a database of known rate rules and reaction templates. At its core, RMG relies on two fundamental data structures: graphs and trees. Graphs are used to represent chemical structures, and trees are used to represent thermodynamic and kinetic data. Models are generated using a rate-based algorithm which excludes species from the model based on reaction fluxes. RMG can generate reactionmechanisms for species involving carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen. It also has capabilities for estimating transport and solvation properties, and it automatically computes pressure-dependent rate coefficients and identifies chemically-activated reaction paths. RMG is an object-oriented program written in Python, which provides a stable, robust programming architecture for developing an extensible and modular code base with a large suite of unit tests. Computationally intensive functions are cythonized for speed improvements.

In this paper we exploit the use of symmetries of a physical system so as to characterize the corresponding solution manifold by means of Noether invariants. This constitutes a necessary preliminary step towards the correct quantisation in non-linear cases, where the success of Canonical Quantisation is not guaranteed in general. To achieve this task "point symmetries" of the Lagrangian are generally not enough, and the notion of contact transformations is in order. The use of the Poincar\\'e-Cartan form permits finding both the symplectic structure on the solution manifold, through the Hamilton-Jacobi transformation, and the required symmetries, realized as Hamiltonian vector fields, associated with functions on the solution manifold (thus constituting an inverse of the Noether Theorem), lifted back to the evolution space through the inverse of this Hamilton-Jacobi mapping. In this framework, solutions and symmetries are somehow identified and this correspondence is also kept at a perturbative level. We prese...

Nonlinear Schroedinger equations proposed by Kostin and by Doebner and Goldin are rederived from Nottale's prescription for obtaining quantum mechanics from classical mechanics in nondifferentiable spaces; i.e., from hydrodynamical concepts and scale covariance. Some soliton and plane wave solutions are discussed.

Covalent polymer mechanochemistry offers promising opportunities for the control and engineering of reactivity. To date, covalent mechanochemistry has largely been limited to individual reactions, but it also presents potential for intricate reaction systems and feedback loops. Here we report a molecular architecture, in which a cyclobutane mechanophore functions as a gate to regulate the activation of a second mechanophore, dichlorocyclopropane, resulting in a mechanochemical cascade reaction. Single-molecule force spectroscopy, pulsed ultrasonication experiments and DFT-level calculations support gating and indicate that extra force of >0.5 nN needs to be applied to a polymer of gated gDCC than of free gDCC for the mechanochemical isomerization gDCC to proceed at equal rate. The gating concept provides a mechanism by which to regulate stress-responsive behaviours, such as load-strengthening and mechanochromism, in future materials designs.

With rapid recent advances in quantum technology, we are close to the threshold of quantum devices whose computational powers can exceed those of classical supercomputers. Here, we show that a quantum computer can be used to elucidate reactionmechanisms in complex chemical systems, using the open problem of biological nitrogen fixation in nitrogenase as an example. We discuss how quantum computers can augment classical computer simulations used to probe these reactionmechanisms, to significantly increase their accuracy and enable hitherto intractable simulations. Our resource estimates show that, even when taking into account the substantial overhead of quantum error correction, and the need to compile into discrete gate sets, the necessary computations can be performed in reasonable time on small quantum computers. Our results demonstrate that quantum computers will be able to tackle important problems in chemistry without requiring exorbitant resources.

We introduce an approach to analyze collective variables (CVs) regarding their predictive power for a reaction. The method is based on already available path sampling data produced by, for instance, transition interface sampling or forward flux sampling, which are path sampling methods used for efficient computation of reaction rates. By a search in CV space, a measure of predictiveness can be optimized and, in addition, the number of CVs can be reduced using projection operations which keep this measure invariant. The approach allows testing hypotheses on the reactionmechanism but could, in principle, also be used to construct the phase-space committor surfaces without the need of additional trajectory sampling. The procedure is illustrated for a one-dimensional double-well potential, a theoretical model for an ion-transfer reaction in which the solvent structure can lower the barrier, and an ab initio molecular dynamics study of water auto-ionization. The analysis technique enhances the quantitative interpretation of path sampling data which can provide clues on how chemical reactions can be steered in desired directions.

From the group movement of the bed load within the bottom layer, details of the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of bed load movement are discussed in this paper. Whether the sediment is initiated into motion cor-responds to whether the constant term in the equation is equal to zero. If constant term is zero and no dispersive force is considered, the equation represents the traditional Shields initiation curve, and if constant term is zero with-out the dispersive force being considered, then a new Shields curve which is much lower than the traditional one is got, The fixed point of the equation corresponds to the equilibrium sediment transport of bed load. In the mutation analysis, we have found that the inflection point is the demarcation point of breaking. In theory, the breaking point corresponds to the dividing boundary line, across which the bed form changes from flat bed to sand ripple or sand dune. Compared with the experimental data of Chatou Hydraulic Lab in France, the conclusions are verified.

Amounts of empirical evidence, ranging from microbial cooperation to collective hunting, suggests public goods produced often nonlinearly depend on the total amount of contribution. The implication of such nonlinear public goods for the evolution of cooperation is not well understood. There is also little attention paid to the divisibility nature of individual contribution amount, divisible vs. non-divisible ones. The corresponding strategy space in the former is described by a continuous investment while in the latter by a continuous probability to contribute all or nothing. Here, we use adaptive dynamics in finite populations to quantify and compare the roles nonlinearity of public-goods production plays in cooperation between these two contribution mechanisms. Although under both contribution mechanisms the population can converge into a coexistence equilibrium with an intermediate cooperation level, the branching phenomenon only occurs in the divisible contribution mechanism. The results shed insight into understanding observed individual difference in cooperative behavior.

A mathematical technique based on the consideration of a nonlinear partial differential equation together with an additional condition in the form of an ordinary differential equation is employed to study a nonlinearreaction diffusion equation which describes a real process in physics and in chemistry. Several exact solutions for the equation are acquired under certain circumstances.

The nonlinear predator-prey reaction diffusion systems for singularly perturbed Robin Problems are considered. Under suitable conditions, the theory of differential inequalities can be used to study the asymptotic behavior of the solution for initial boundary value problems.

Full Text Available We discuss the reactionmechanisms involved in heavy ion fusion. We begin with collisions of tightly bound systems, considering three energy regimes: energies above the Coulomb barrier, energies just below the barrier and deep sub-barrier energies. We show that channel coupling effects may inﬂuence the fusion process at above-barrier energies, increasing or reducing the cross section predicted by single barrier penetration model. Below the Coulomb barrier, it enhances the cross section, and this effect increases with the system’s size. It is argued that this behavior can be traced back to the increasing importance of Coulomb coupling with the charge of the collision partners. The sharp drop of the fusion cross section observed at deep sub-barrier energies is addressed and the theoretical approaches to this phenomenon are discussed. We then consider the reactionmechanisms involved in fusion reactions of weakly bound systems, paying particular attention to the calculations of complete and incomplete fusion available in the literature.

This paper deals with a reaction-diffusion system with nonlinear absorption terms and boundary flux. As results of interactions among the six nonlinear terms in the system, some sufficient conditions on global existence and finite time blow-up of the solutions are described via all the six nonlinear exponents appearing in the six nonlinear terms. In addition, we also show the influence of the coefficients of the absorption terms as well as the geometry of the domain to the global existence and finite time blow-up of the solutions for some cases. At last, some numerical results are given.

Quantum mechanical methods are developed to describe the dynamics of bimolecular chemical reactions. We focus on developing approaches for directly calculating the desired quantity of interest. Methods for the calculation of single matrix elements of the scattering matrix (S-matrix) and initial state-selected reaction probabilities are presented. This is accomplished by the use of absorbing boundary conditions (ABC) to obtain a localized (L2) representation of the outgoing wave scattering Green`s function. This approach enables the efficient calculation of only a single column of the S-matrix with a proportionate savings in effort over the calculation of the entire S-matrix. Applying this method to the calculation of the initial (or final) state-selected reaction probability, a more averaged quantity, requires even less effort than the state-to-state S-matrix elements. It is shown how the same representation of the Green`s function can be effectively applied to the calculation of negative ion photodetachment intensities. Photodetachment spectroscopy of the anion ABC- can be a very useful method for obtaining detailed information about the neutral ABC potential energy surface, particularly if the ABC- geometry is similar to the transition state of the neutral ABC. Total and arrangement-selected photodetachment spectra are calculated for the H3O- system, providing information about the potential energy surface for the OH + H2reaction when compared with experimental results. Finally, we present methods for the direct calculation of the thermal rate constant from the flux-position and flux-flux correlation functions. The spirit of transition state theory is invoked by concentrating on the short time dynamics in the area around the transition state that determine reactivity. These methods are made efficient by evaluating the required quantum mechanical trace in the basis of eigenstates of the

This paper deals with the long term behavior of periodically excited mechanical systems consisting of linear components and local nonlinearities. The number of degrees of freedom of the linear components is reduced by applying a component mode synthesis technique. Lyapunov exponents are used to iden

Some issues of control in complex dynamical systems are considered. The authors discuss two control mechanisms, namely: a short range, reactive control based on the chaos control idea and a long-term strategic control based on an optimal control algorithm. They apply these control ideas to simple examples in a discrete nonlinear model of a multi-nation arms race.

This is the final technical report for the project titled 'Mathematically Reduced Chemical ReactionMechanism Using Neural Networks'. The aim of the project was to develop an efficient chemistry model for combustion simulations. The reduced chemistry model was developed mathematically without the need of having extensive knowledge of the chemistry involved. To aid in the development of the model, Neural Networks (NN) was used via a new network topology known as Non-linear Principal Components Analysis (NPCA). A commonly used Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP-NN) was modified to implement NPCA-NN. The training rate of NPCA-NN was improved with the GEneralized Regression Neural Network (GRNN) based on kernel smoothing techniques. Kernel smoothing provides a simple way of finding structure in data set without the imposition of a parametric model. The trajectory data of the reactionmechanism was generated based on the optimization techniques of genetic algorithm (GA). The NPCA-NN algorithm was then used for the reduction of Dimethyl Ether (DME) mechanism. DME is a recently discovered fuel made from natural gas, (and other feedstock such as coal, biomass, and urban wastes) which can be used in compression ignition engines as a substitute for diesel. An in-house two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code was developed based on Meshfree technique and time marching solution algorithm. The project also provided valuable research experience to two graduate students.

The progression of damage as a result of alkali-silica reaction in mortar samples is monitored by using the Nonlinear Impact Resonance Acoustic Spectroscopy (NIRAS) method and expansion measurements, which were performed daily. Results of this study show a strong correlation between the cumulative average nonlinearity parameter and expansion for each sample type, and a strong linear relationship between fourteen-day expansion and the cumulative average nonlinearity of among sample types. In addition to the cumulative average nonlinearity parameter, the standard deviation of average nonlinearity parameter shows strong correlation with the fourteen-day expansion of sample types. Results provide insights to the relationship with the acoustic nonlinearity and damage caused by the ASR.

The photochromic properties and reactionmechanism of title compounds have been examined with steady method on compounds 3-phenyl-3-[3-methylbenzothiophene-2-yl]-3H- naphtho[2,1-b]pyran (1) and 3-phenyl-3-[benzofuran-2-yl]-3H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran (2) and nanosecond laser flash photolysis techniques on compound 3-phenyl-3-[1,2-dimethylindol-3-yl]- 3H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran (3). The influence of oxygen on transient spectra and decay kinetics of compound 3 has been investigated. Both excited singlet state and triplet state are involved in the photochromic mechanism of compound 3. The influence of molecular structure on photochromic behavior has been studied also. Decay kinetics indicated that the lifetime of colored forms of 1 and 2 were several orders of magnitude longer than that of 3.

The photochromic properties and reactionmechanism of title compounds have been examined with steady method on compounds 3-phenyl-3-[3-methylbenzothiophene-2-yl]-3H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran (1) and 3-phenyl-3-[benzofuran-2-yl]-3H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran (2) and nanosecond laser flash photolysis techniques on compound 3-phenyl-3-[1,2-dimethylindol-3-yl]-3H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran (3). The influence of oxygen on transient spectra and decay kinetics of compound 3 has been investigated. Both excited singlet state and triplet state are involved in the photochromic mechanism of compound 3. The influence of molecular structure on photochromic behavior has been studied also. Decay kinetics indicated that the lifetime of colored forms of 1 and 2 were several orders of magnitude longer than that of 3.

The mechanical-thermal noise (MTN) equivalent rotation rate (Ωn) is computed by using the linear approximation of the system response and the nonlinear "slow" system. The slow system, which is obtained using the method of multiple scales, is used to identify the linear single-valued response of the system. The linear estimate of the noise equivalent rate fails as the drive direction stroke increases. It becomes imperative in these conditions to use a more complex nonlinear estimate of the noise equivalent rate developed here for the first time in literature. The proposed design achieves a high performance regarding noise equivalent rotation rate.

International Series of Monographs on Interdisciplinary and Advanced Topics in Science and Engineering, Volume 1: Foundations of the Non-LinearMechanics of Continua deals with the theoretical apparatus, principal concepts, and principles used in the construction of models of material bodies that fill space continuously. This book consists of three chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 are devoted to the theory of tensors and kinematic applications, focusing on the little-known theory of non-linear tensor functions. The laws of dynamics and thermodynamics are covered in Chapter 3.This volume is suitable

The aim of this work is to design and study a Balancing Domain Decomposition by Constraints (BDDC) solver for the nonlinear elasticity system modeling the mechanical deformation of cardiac tissue. The contraction–relaxation process in the myocardium is induced by the generation and spread of the bioelectrical excitation throughout the tissue and it is mathematically described by the coupling of cardiac electro-mechanical models consisting of systems of partial and ordinary differential equations. In this study, the discretization of the electro-mechanical models is performed by Q1 finite elements in space and semi-implicit finite difference schemes in time, leading to the solution of a large-scale linear system for the bioelectrical potentials and a nonlinear system for the mechanical deformation at each time step of the simulation. The parallel mechanical solver proposed in this paper consists in solving the nonlinear system with a Newton-Krylov-BDDC method, based on the parallel solution of local mechanical problems and a coarse problem for the so-called primal unknowns. Three-dimensional parallel numerical tests on different machines show that the proposed parallel solver is scalable in the number of subdomains, quasi-optimal in the ratio of subdomain to mesh sizes, and robust with respect to tissue anisotropy.

The effect of mechanical interaction between cells on the spreading of bacterial population was investigated in one-dimensional space. A nonlinearreaction-diffusion equation has been formulated as a model for this dynamics. In this model, the bacterial cells are treated as the rod-like particles that interact, when contacting each other, through the hard-core repulsion. The repulsion introduces the exclusion process that causes the fast diffusion in bacterial population at high density. The propagation of the bacterial density as the traveling wave front in long time behavior has been analyzed. The analytical result reveals that the front speed is enhanced by the exclusion process---and its value depends on the packing fraction of cell. The numerical solutions of the model have been solved to confirm this prediction.

The asymptotic homogenization technique is presently developed in the framework of geometrical nonlinearities to derive the large strains effective elastic response of network materials viewed as repetitive beam networks. This works extends the small strains homogenization method developed with special emphasis on textile structures in Goda et al. (J Mech Phys Solids 61(12):2537-2565, 2013). A systematic methodology is established, allowing the prediction of the overall mechanical properties of these structures in the nonlinear regime, reflecting the influence of the geometrical and mechanical micro-parameters of the network structure on the overall response of the chosen equivalent continuum. Internal scale effects of the initially discrete structure are captured by the consideration of a micropolar effective continuum model. Applications to the large strain response of 3D hexagonal lattices and dry textiles exemplify the powerfulness of the proposed method. The effective mechanical responses obtained for different loadings are validated by FE simulations performed over a representative unit cell.

Stationary and time-dependent solutions of a nonlinear Kramers equation, as well as its associated nonlinear Fokker-Planck equations, are investigated within the context of Tsallis nonextensive statistical mechanics. Since no general analytical time-dependent solutions are found for such a nonlinear Kramers equation, an ansatz is considered and the corresponding asymptotic behavior is studied and compared with those known for the standard linear Kramers equation. The H-theorem is analyzed for this equation and its connection with Tsallis entropy is investigated. An application is discussed, namely the motion of Hydra cells in two-dimensional cellular aggregates, for which previous measurements have verified q-Gaussian distributions for velocity components and superdiffusion. The present analysis is in quantitative agreement with these experimental results.

The control problems of chaotic systems are investigated in the presence of parametric uncertainty and persistent external disturbances based on nonlinear control theory.By using a designed nonlinear compensator mechanism,the system deterministic nonlinearity,parametric uncertainty and disturbance effect can be compensated effectively.The renowned chaotic Lorenz system subjected to parametric variations and external disturbances is studied as an illustrative example.From the Lyapunov stability theory,sufficient conditions for choosing control parameters to guarantee chaos control are derived.Several experiments are carried out,including parameter change experiments,set-point change experiments and disturbance experiments.Simulation results indicate that the chaotic motion can be regulated not only to steady states but also to any desired periodic orbits with great immunity to parametric variations and external disturbances.

The fundamental sensitivity limit of an appropriately scaled down mechanical resonator can approach one atomic mass unit when only thermal noise is present in the system. However, operation of such nanoscale mechanical resonators is very challenging due to minuteness of their oscillation amplitudes and presence of multiple noise sources in real experimental environments. In order to surmount these challenges, we use microscale cantilever resonators driven to large amplitudes, far beyond their nonlinear instability onset. Our experiments show that such a nonlinear cantilever resonator, described analytically as a Duffing oscillator, has mass sensing performance comparable to that of much smaller resonators operating in a linear regime. We demonstrate femtogram level mass sensing that relies on a bifurcation point tracking that does not require any complex readout means. Our approaches enable straightforward detection of mass changes that are near the fundamental limit imposed by thermo-mechanical fluctuations.

The warp yarns and weft yarns of plain woven fabric which, being the principal axes of material of fabric, are orthogonal in the original configuration, but are obliquely crossed in the deformed configuration in general. The orthotropic constitutive model is unsuitable for fabric. In the oblique principal axes system the relations between loaded stress vectors and stress tensor are investigated, the stress fields of micro-weaving structures of fabric due to pure shear are carefully studied and, finally, a nonlinear micro-mechanical model for plain woven fabric is proposed. This model can accurately describe the nonlinearmechanical behavior of fabric observed in experiments. Under the assumption of small deformation and linearity of mechanical properties of fabric the model will degenerate into the existing linear model.

A knockout reaction experiment was carried out by using the 6He beam at 82.5 MeV/nucleon impinging on CH2 and C targets. The a core fragments at forward angles were detected in coincidence with the recoiled protons at larger angles. From this exclusive measure- ment the valence nucleon knockout mechanism and the core knockout mechanism are separated. This study provides a basis for the exclusive spectroscopic investigation of the exotic nuclei.

It is becoming increasingly evident that interactions between the different cell types present in the vessel wall and the physical forces that result from blood flow are highly complex. This short article will review evidence that irregular fluctuations in vascular resistance are generated by non-linearity in the control mechanisms intrinsic to the smooth muscle cell and can be classified as chaotic. Non-linear systems theory has provided insights into the mechanisms involved at the cellular level by allowing the identification of dominant control variables and the construction of one-dimensional iterative maps to model vascular dynamics. Experiments with novel peptide inhibitors of gap junctions have shown that the coordination of aggregate responses depends on direct intercellular communication. The sensitivity of chaotic trajectories to perturbation may nevertheless generate a high degree of variability in the response to pharmacological interventions and altered perfusion conditions.

Two approaches to enhance the understanding of organic reactionmechanisms are described. First, a new method for teaching organic reactionmechanisms that can be used in a Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) environment is proposed and tested (Chapter 1). The method concentrates upon the important intermediate structures, which are assumed to be on the reaction coordinate, and which can be evaluated and graded by currently available computer techniques. At the same time, the "curved arrows" that show the electron flow in a reactionmechanism are neglected, since they cannot be evaluated and graded with currently available computer techniques. By allowing student practice for learning organic reactionmechanisms using the Curved Arrow Neglect (CAN) method within a "Practice Makes Perfect" CAI method, student performance in the drawing of traditional reactionmechanisms, in which students had to include the "curved arrows" on their written classroom exams, was significantly enhanced. Second, computerized prelaboratory experiments (CPLEX) for organic chemistry laboratory 1 & 2 courses have been created, used, and evaluated (Chapters 2 and 3). These computerized prelabs are unique because they combine both "dry lab" actions with detailed animations of the actual chemistry occurring at the molecular level. The "dry lab" serves to simulate the actual physical manipulations of equipment and chemicals that occur in the laboratory experiment through the use of drag-and-drop computer technology. At the same time, these physical actions are accompanied on a separate part of the computer screen by animations showing the chemistry at the molecular level that is occurring in the experiment. These CPLEX modules were made into Internet accessible modules. The students were allowed to access the CPLEX modules prior to performing the actual laboratory experiment. A detailed evaluation of students' perception of the modules was accomplished via survey methodology during the entire

The main aim of the paper is to incorporate the nonlinear kinetic term into non-Markovian transport equations described by a continuous time random walk (CTRW) with nonexponential waiting time distributions. We consider three different CTRW models with reactions. We derive nonlinear Master equations for the mesoscopic density of reacting particles corresponding to CTRW with arbitrary jump and waiting time distributions. We apply these equations to the problem of front propagation in the reaction-transport systems with Kolmogorov-Petrovskii-Piskunov kinetics and anomalous diffusion. We have found an explicit expression for the speed of a propagating front in the case of subdiffusive transport.

A method for reduction of detailed chemical reactionmechanisms, introduced earlier for ignition system, was extended to laminar premixed flames. The reduction is based on testing the reaction and reaction-enthalpy rates of the 'full' reactionmechanism using a zero-dimensional model with the flame temperature profile as a constraint. The technique is demonstrated with numerical tests performed on the mechanism of methane combustion.

demonstrates the influence of varying geometry or constitutive properties. For a split cylinder test in load control it is shown how the ultimate load is either plasticity dominated or fracture mechanics dominated. The transition between the two modes is related to changes in geometry or constitutive......The split cylinder testis subjected to an analysis combining nonlinear fracture mechanics and plasticity. The fictitious crack model is applied for the analysis of splitting tensile fracture, and the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion is adopted for modelling the compressive crushing/sliding failure. Two...

Full Text Available The possibility of using diatomaceous earth as Si precursor for low temperature synthesis of non-oxide powders by carbothermal reduction-nitridation was studied. It was found that carbonitriding reactions produce phases of the Si–Al–O–N system. Already at 1300 °C, nanosized, non-oxide powders were obtained. The comparatively low reaction temperatures is attributred to the nano-porous nature of the raw material. The evolution of crystalline phases proceeded via many intermediate stages. The powders were characterized by X-ray and SEM investigations. The results showed that diatomaceous earth can be a very effective source for obtaining non-oxide powders.

The copper-mediated aromatic nucleophilic substitution reactions developed by Fritz Ullmann and Irma Goldberg required stoichiometric amounts of copper and very high reaction temperatures. Recently, it was found that addition of relatively cheap ligands (diamines, aminoalcohols, diketones, diols) ma

The robustness of mechanical systems is influenced by various factors. Their effects must be understood for designing robust systems. This paper proposes a model for describing the relationships among functional requirements, structural characteristics, design parameters and uncontrollable variables of nonlinear systems. With this model, the ensitivity of systems was analyzed to formulate a system sensitivity index and robust sensitivity matrix to determine the importance of the factors in relation to the robustness of systems. Based on the robust design principle, an optimization model was developed. Combining this optimization model and the Taguchi method for robust design, annalysis as carried out to reveal the characteristics of the systems. For a nonlinearmechanical system, relationships among structural characteristics of the system, design parameters, and uncontrollable variables can be formulated as a mathematical function. The characteristics of the system determine how design parameters affect the functional equirements of the system. Consequently, they affect the distribution of system performance functions. Nonlinearity of the system can facilitate the selection of design parameters to achieve the required functional requirements.

Full Text Available A reduced chemical kinetic mechanism for the oxidation of iso-octane has been developed and a detailed study on the ignition of iso-octane has been conducted analytically using a kinetic scheme with 994 elementary reactions and 201 species. The activation energies of isooctane are higher than n-octane. Hence iso-octane is widelyused for combustion simulations. A program has been developed in MATLAB for the calculation and prediction of the concentration of 201 intermediate species and the ignition delay in the combustion of Iso-octane. The various initial conditions considered was in between the temperatures of 600K to 1250K with pressure ranging from 10atm to40atm at various equivalence ratios of 0.3 and 0.6. Nitrogen is considered as the diluent. The diluent percentage is assumed as 79% to make a comparison with atmospheric condition. The criteria for determination of ignition delay times are based on the OH concentrations to reach to a value of 1x10-9 moles/cc. The ignition delay times are obtained by varying initial conditions of the mixture in the combustion of Iso-octane. The results on ignition delays have been found to be agreeable with those available in the literature. Cantera (an object oriented software for reacting flows software is used in this study.

This paper focuses on recent advances in the understanding of nonlinear insolation forcing for climate change. The amplitude-frequency resonances in the insolation variations induced by the Earth's changing obliquity are emergent and may provide a physical mechanism to drive the glaciation cycles. To establish the criterion that nonlinear insolation forcing is responsible for major climate changes, the cooperative phenomena between the frequency and amplitude of the insolation are defined as insolation pulsation. Coupling of the insolation frequency and amplitude variations has established an especially new and interesting series of insolation pulses. These pulses would modulate the insolation in such a way that the mode of insolation variations could be locked to generate the 100-kyr ice age cycle which is a long-time geophysical puzzle. The nonlinear behavior of insolation forcing is tested by energy balance and ice sheet climate models and the physical mechanism behind this forcing is explained in terms of pulse duration in the incoming solar radiation. Calculations of the solar energy flux at the top of the atmosphere show that the duration of the negative and positive insolation pulses is about 2 thousand years which is long enough to prolong glaciation into deep ice ages and cause rapid melting of large ice sheets in the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere. We have performed numerical simulations of climate response to nonlinear insolation forcing for the past 2 million years. Our calculated results of temperature fluctuations are in good agreement with the climate cycles as seen in the terrestrial biogenic silica (BDP-96-2) data as well as in the marine oxygen isotope (delta(sup 18)O) records.

This book presents several fundamental results in solving nonlinearreaction-diffusion equations and systems using symmetry-based methods. Reaction-diffusion systems are fundamental modeling tools for mathematical biology with applications to ecology, population dynamics, pattern formation, morphogenesis, enzymatic reactions and chemotaxis. The book discusses the properties of nonlinearreaction-diffusion systems, which are relevant for biological applications, from the symmetry point of view, providing rigorous definitions and constructive algorithms to search for conditional symmetry (a nontrivial generalization of the well-known Lie symmetry) of nonlinearreaction-diffusion systems. In order to present applications to population dynamics, it focuses mainly on two- and three-component diffusive Lotka-Volterra systems. While it is primarily a valuable guide for researchers working with reaction-diffusion systems and those developing the theoretical aspects of conditional symmetry conception,...

With ever-increasing attentions being paid to complex systems such as the life system, soft matter, and nano-systems, theoretical studies of non-equilibrium nonlinear problems involved in chemical dynamics are now of general interest. In this mini-review, we mainly give a brief introduction to some frontier topics in this field, namely, nonlinear state-state dynamics, nonlinear chemical dynamics on complex networks, and nonlinear dynamics in mesoscopic chemical reaction systems. Deep study of these topics will make great contribution to discovering new laws of chemical dynamics, to exploring new control methods of complex chemical processes, to figuring out the very roles of chemical processes in the life system, and to crosslinking the scientific study of chemistry, physics and biology.

Travelling and solitary wave solutions of certain coupled nonlinear diffusion-reaction equations have been constructed using the auxiliary equation method. These equations arise in a variety of contexts not only in biological, chemical and physical sciences but also in ecological and social sciences.

An auto-Bäcklund transformation derived in the homogeneous balance method is employed to obtain several new exact solutions of certain kinds of nonlinear diffusion-reaction (D-R) equations. These equations arise in a variety of problems in physical, chemical, biological, social and ecological sciences.

In this paper, polymer foam cored sandwich structures with fibre reinforced composite face sheets subjected to combined mechanical and thermal loads will be analysed using the commercial FE code ABAQUS® incorporating both material and geometrical nonlinearity. Large displacements and rotations ar...... are included in the analysis. The full nonlinear stress-strain curves up to failure will be considered for the polymer foams at different temperatures to study the effect of material nonlinearity in detail....

Full text: DNA is one of the most important macromolecules of all biological system. New discoveries about it have open a vast new field of research, the physics of nonlinear DNA. A particular feature that has attracted a lot of attention is the thermal denaturation, i.e., the spontaneous separation of the two strands upon heating. In 1989 a simple lattice model for the denaturation of the DNA was proposed, the Peyrard-Bishop model, PB. The bio molecule is described by two chains of particles coupled by nonlinear springs, simulating the hydrogen bonds that connect the two basis in a pair. The potential for the hydrogen bonds is usually approximated by a Morse potential. The Hamiltonian system generates a partition function which allows the evaluation of the thermodynamical quantities such as mean strength of the basis pairs. As a byproduct the Hamiltonian system was shown to be a NLSE (nonlinear Schroedinger equation) having soliton solutions. On the other hand, a reflectionless potential with one bound state, constructed using supersymmetric quantum mechanics, SQM, can be shown to be identical to a soliton solution of the KdV equation. Thus, motivated by this Hamiltonian problem and inspired by the PB model, we consider the Hamiltonian of a reflectionless potential through SQM, in order to evaluate thermodynamical quantities of a unidimensional lattice with possible biological applications. (author)

Aftershocks are ubiquitous in nature. They are the manifestation of relaxation phenomena observed in various physical systems. In one prominent example, they typically occur after large earthquakes. They also occur in other natural or experimental systems, for example, in solar flares, in fracture experiments on porous materials and acoustic emissions, after stock market crashes, in the volatility of stock prices returns, in internet traffic variability and e-mail spamming, to mention a few. The observed aftershock sequences usually obey several well defined non-trivial empirical laws in magnitude, temporal, and spatial domains. In many cases their characteristics follow scale-invariant distributions. The occurrence of aftershocks displays a prominent temporal behavior due to time-dependent mechanisms of stress and/or energy transfer. In this work, we consider a slider-block model to mimic the behavior of a seismogenic fault. In the model, we introduce a nonlinear viscoelastic coupling mechanism to capture the essential characteristics of crustal rheology and stress interaction between the blocks and the medium. For this purpose we employ nonlinear Kelvin-Voigt elements consisting of an elastic spring and a dashpot assembled in parallel to introduce viscoelastic coupling between the blocks and the driving plate. By mapping the model into a cellular automaton we derive the functional form of the stress transfer mechanism in the model. We show that the nonlinear viscoelasticity plays a critical role in triggering of aftershocks. It explains the functional form of the Omori-Utsu law and gives physical interpretation of its parameters. The proposed model also suggests that the power-law rheology of the fault gauge and underlying lower crust and upper mantle control the decay rate of aftershocks. To verify this, we analyze several prominent aftershock sequences to estimate their decay rates and correlate with the rheological properties of the underlying lower crust and

Full Text Available The analysis of stability and bifurcation is studied in nonlinearmechanics with dissipative mechanisms: plasticity, damage, fracture. The description is based on introduction of a set of internal variables. This framework allows a systematic description of the material behaviour via two potentials: the free energy and the potential of dissipation. In the framework of standard generalized materials the internal state evolution is governed by a variational inequality which depends on the mechanism of dissipation. This inequality is obtained through energetic considerations in an unified description based upon energy and driving forces associated to the dissipative process. This formulation provides criterion for existence and uniqueness of the system evolution. Examples are presented for plasticity, fracture and for damaged materials.

Networks with only central force interactions are floppy when their average connectivity is below an isostatic threshold. Although such networks are mechanically unstable, they can become rigid when strained. It was recently shown that the transition from floppy to rigid states as a function of simple shear strain is continuous, with hallmark signatures of criticality (Nat. Phys. 12, 584 (2016)). The nonlinearmechanical response of collagen networks was shown to be quantitatively described within the framework of such mechanical critical phenomenon. Here, we provide a more quantitative characterization of critical behavior in subisostatic networks. Using finite size scaling we demonstrate the divergence of strain fluctuations in the network at well-defined critical strain. We show that the characteristic strain corresponding to the onset of strain stiffening is distinct from but related to this critical strain in a way that depends on critical exponents. We confirm this prediction experimentally for collagen...

Full Text Available Upholstered furniture intended to provide better sleep and rest, especially furniture for disabled persons, require careful design of elastic spring systems. In the majority of cases, when designing new articles, both furniture designers and manufacturers rely on long-term experience and craftsman’s intuition. On the other hand, the accumulated interdisciplinary knowledge of modern medical laboratories as well as furniture certification offices indicate that it is necessary to carry out investigations related to the mechanical properties of raw materials used to manufacture furniture and to conduct virtual modelling of the phenomena connected with the contact of the human body with the elastic base. The aim of this study was to determine the elastic properties of hyper-plastic polyurethane foams applied in furniture industry, to elaborate mathematical models of these materials on the basis of non-linear Mooney-Rivlin models and to conduct a non-linear numerical analysis of contact strains in a deformed seat made of polyurethane foam. The results of the experiments revealed that the mechanical properties of polyurethanefoams are described properly by the Mooney-Rivlin model. Knowing the mechanical properties of these foams, it is possible to create freely complex furniture elastic systems. The state of strains in the contact of the human body with foam depends on the friction between these bodies. Therefore, in practice, it is advisable to design seatsystems resulting in minimal frictions between the user’s clothes and the furniture seat.

Summary MACiE (Mechanism, Annotation and Classification in Enzymes) is a publicly available web-based database, held in CMLReact (an XML application), that aims to help our understanding of the evolution of enzyme catalytic mechanisms and also to create a classification system which reflects the actual chemical mechanism (catalytic steps) of an enzyme reaction, not only the overall reaction. PMID:16188925

Attempts have been made to explore the exact periodic and solitary wave solutions of nonlinearreaction diffusion (RD) equation involving cubic–quintic nonlinearity along with timedependent convection coefficients. Effect of varying model coefficients on the physical parameters of solitary wave solutions is demonstrated. Depending upon the parametric condition, the periodic,double-kink, bell and antikink-type solutions for cubic–quintic nonlinearreaction-diffusion equation are extracted. Such solutions can be used to explain various biological and physical phenomena.

In the present work, the effects of chemical reaction on hydromagnetic natural convection flow of Casson nanofluid induced due to nonlinearly stretching sheet immersed in a porous medium under the influence of thermal radiation and convective boundary condition are performed numerically. Moreover, the effects of velocity slip at stretching sheet wall are also examined in this study. The highly nonlinear-coupled governing equations are converted to nonlinear ordinary differential equations via similarity transformations. The transformed governing equations are then solved numerically using the Keller box method and graphical results for velocity, temperature, and nanoparticle concentration as well as wall shear stress, heat, and mass transfer rate are achieved through MATLAB software. Numerical results for the wall shear stress and heat transfer rate are presented in tabular form and compared with previously published work. Comparison reveals that the results are in good agreement. Findings of this work demonstrate that Casson fluids are better to control the temperature and nanoparticle concentration as compared to Newtonian fluid when the sheet is stretched in a nonlinear way. Also, the presence of suspended nanoparticles effectively promotes the heat transfer mechanism in the base fluid.

In the present work, the effects of chemical reaction on hydromagnetic natural convection flow of Casson nanofluid induced due to nonlinearly stretching sheet immersed in a porous medium under the influence of thermal radiation and convective boundary condition are performed numerically. Moreover, the effects of velocity slip at stretching sheet wall are also examined in this study. The highly nonlinear-coupled governing equations are converted to nonlinear ordinary differential equations via similarity transformations. The transformed governing equations are then solved numerically using the Keller box method and graphical results for velocity, temperature, and nanoparticle concentration as well as wall shear stress, heat, and mass transfer rate are achieved through MATLAB software. Numerical results for the wall shear stress and heat transfer rate are presented in tabular form and compared with previously published work. Comparison reveals that the results are in good agreement. Findings of this work demonstrate that Casson fluids are better to control the temperature and nanoparticle concentration as compared to Newtonian fluid when the sheet is stretched in a nonlinear way. Also, the presence of suspended nanoparticles effectively promotes the heat transfer mechanism in the base fluid.

Under appropriate conditions, with the perturbation method and the theory of differential inequalities, a class of weakly nonlinear singularly perturbed reaction diffusion problem is considered. The existence of solution of the original problem is proved by constructing the auxiliary functions. The uniformly valid asymptotic expansions of the solution for arbitrary mth order approximation are obtained through constructing the formal solutions of the original problem, expanding the nonlinear terms to the power in small parameter e and comparing the coefficient for the same powers of ε. Finally, an example is provided, resulting in the error of O(ε2).

The first objective of the dissertation is to develop a suitable reduced order model capable of investigating the nonlinearmechanical behavior of von-Karman plates under electrostatic actuation. The second objective is to investigate the nonlinear static and dynamic behavior of rectangular microplates under small and large actuating forces. In the first part, we present and compare various approaches to develop reduced order models for the nonlinear von-Karman rectangular microplates actuated by nonlinear electrostatic forces. The reduced-order models aim to investigate the static and dynamic behavior of the plate under small and large actuation forces. A fully clamped microplate is considered. Different types of basis functions are used in conjunction with the Galerkin method to discretize the governing equations. First we investigate the convergence with the number of modes retained in the model. Then for validation purpose, a comparison of the static results is made with the results calculated by a nonlinear finite element model. The linear eigenvalue problem for the plate under the electrostatic force is solved for a wide range of voltages up to pull-in. In the second part, we present an investigation of the static and dynamic behavior of a fully clamped microplate. We investigate the effect of different non-dimensional design parameters on the static response. The forced-vibration response of the plate is then investigated when the plate is excited by a harmonic AC load superimposed to a DC load. The dynamic behavior is examined near the primary and secondary (superharmonic and subharmonic) resonances. The microplate shows a strong hardening behavior due to the cubic nonlinearity of midplane stretching. However, the behavior switches to softening as the DC load is increased. Next, near-square plates are studied to understand the effect of geometric imperfections of microplates. In the final part of the dissertation, we investigate the mechanical behavior of

Quantum mechanics has been formulated in phase space, with the Wigner function as the representative of the quantum density operator, and classical mechanics has been formulated in Hilbert space, with the Groenewold operator as the representative of the classical Liouville density function. Semiclassical approximations to the quantum evolution of the Wigner function have been defined, enabling the quantum evolution to be approached from a classical starting point. Now analogous semiquantum approximations to the classical evolution of the Groenewold operator are defined, enabling the classical evolution to be approached from a quantum starting point. Simple nonlinear systems with one degree of freedom are considered, whose Hamiltonians are polynomials in the Hamiltonian of the simple harmonic oscillator. The behaviour of expectation values of simple observables and of eigenvalues of the Groenewold operator, are calculated numerically and compared for the various semiclassical and semiquantum approximations.

The sialyltransferase is an enzyme that transfers the sialic acid moiety from cytidine 5'-monophospho-N-acetyl-neuraminic acid (CMP-NeuAc) to the terminal position of glycans. To elucidate the catalytic mechanism of sialyltransferase, we explored the potential energy surface along the sialic acid transfer reaction coordinates by the hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics method on the basis of the crystal structure of sialyltransferase CstII. Our calculation demonstrated that CstII employed an SN1-like reactionmechanism via the formation of a short-lived oxocarbenium ion intermediate. The computational barrier height was 19.5 kcal/mol, which reasonably corresponded with the experimental reaction rate. We also found that two tyrosine residues (Tyr156 and Tyr162) played a vital role in stabilizing the intermediate and the transition states by quantum mechanical interaction with CMP.

This is an annual technical report for the work done over the last year (period ending 9/30/2005) on the project titled ''Mathematically Reduced Chemical ReactionMechanism Using Neural Networks''. The aim of the project is to develop an efficient chemistry model for combustion simulations. The reduced chemistry model will be developed mathematically without the need of having extensive knowledge of the chemistry involved. To aid in the development of the model, Neural Networks (NN) will be used via a new network topology know as Non-linear Principal Components Analysis (NPCA). We report on the development of a novel procedure to speed up the training of NPCA. The same procedure termed L{sub 2}Boost can be used to increase the order of approximation of the Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN). It is pointed out that GRNN is a basic procedure for the emerging mesh free CFD. Also reported is an efficient simple approach of computing the derivatives of GRNN function approximation using complex variables or the Complex Step Method (CSM). The results presented demonstrate the significance of the methods developed and will be useful in many areas of applied science and engineering.

A contact-aided compliant mechanism called a twist compliant mechanism (TCM) is presented in this paper. This mechanism has nonlinear stiffness when it is twisted in both directions along its axis. The inner core of the mechanism is primarily responsible for its flexibility in one twisting direction. The contact surfaces of the cross-members and compliant sectors are primarily responsible for its high stiffness in the opposite direction. A desired twist angle in a given direction can be achieved by tailoring the stiffness of a TCM. The stiffness of a compliant twist mechanism can be tailored by varying thickness of its cross-members, thickness of the core and thickness of its sectors. A multi-objective optimization problem with three objective functions is proposed in this paper, and used to design an optimal TCM with desired twist angle. The objective functions are to minimize the mass and maximum von-Mises stress observed, while minimizing or maximizing the twist angles under specific loading conditions. The multi-objective optimization problem proposed in this paper is solved for an ornithopter flight research platform as a case study, with the goal of using the TCM to achieve passive twisting of the wing during upstroke, while keeping the wing fully extended and rigid during the downstroke. Prototype TCMs have been fabricated using 3D printing and tested. Testing results are also presented in this paper.

Full Text Available This paper presents an integrated methodology for optimal design and control of nonlinear flexible mechanical systems, including minimum time problems. This formulation is implemented in an optimum design code and it is applied to the nonlinear behavior dynamic response. Damping and stiffness characteristics plus control driven forces are considered as decision variables. A conceptual separation between time variant and time invariant design parameters is presented, this way including the design space into the control space and considering the design variables as control variables not depending on time. By using time integrals through all the derivations, design and control problems are unified. In the optimization process we can use both types of variables simultaneously or by interdependent levels. For treating minimum time problems, a unit time interval is mapped onto the original time interval, then treating equally time variant and time invariant problems. The dynamic response and its sensitivity are discretized via space-time finite elements, and may be integrated either by at-once integration or step-by-step. Adjoint system approach is used to calculate the sensitivities.

In their prior Dover book, Theoretical Mechanics of Particles and Continua, Alexander L. Fetter and John Dirk Walecka provided a lucid and self-contained account of classical mechanics, together with appropriate mathematical methods. This supplement-an update of that volume-offers a bridge to contemporary mechanics.The original book's focus on continuum mechanics-with chapters on sound waves in fluids, surface waves on fluids, heat conduction, and viscous fluids-forms the basis for this supplement's discussion of nonlinear continuous systems. Topics include linearized stability analysis; a det

A nonlinearreaction diffusion equations for activator inhibitor systems is considered. Under suitable conditions, firstly, the outer solution of the original problem is obtained, secondly, using the variables of multiple scales and the expanding theory of power series the formal asymptotic expansions of the solution are constructed, and finally, using the theory of differential inequalities the uniform validity and asymptotic behavior of the solution are studied.

Photochemistry of carbonyl compounds is of major importance in atmospheric and organic chemistry. The photochemistry of cyclohexanone is studied here using on-the-fly molecular dynamics simulations on a semiempirical multireference configuration interaction potential-energy surface to predict the distribution of photoproducts and time scales for their formation. Rich photochemistry is predicted to occur on a picosecond time scale following the photoexcitation of cyclohexanone to the first singlet excited state. The main findings include: (1) Reaction channels found experimentally are confirmed by the theoretical simulations, and a new reaction channel is predicted. (2) The majority (87%) of the reactive trajectories start with a ring opening via C-Cα bond cleavage, supporting observations of previous studies. (3) Mechanistic details, time scales, and yields are predicted for all reaction channels. These benchmark results shed light on the photochemistry of isolated carbonyl compounds in the atmosphere and can be extended in the future to photochemistry of more complex atmospherically relevant carbonyl compounds in both gaseous and condensed-phase environments.

We present a new theory for modeling forced indentation spectral lineshapes of biological particles, which considers non-linear Hertzian deformation due to an indenter-particle physical contact and bending deformations of curved beams modeling the particle structure. The bending of beams beyond the critical point triggers the particle dynamic transition to the collapsed state, an extreme event leading to the catastrophic force drop as observed in the force (F)-deformation (X) spectra. The theory interprets fine features of the spectra: the slope of the FX curves and the position of force-peak signal, in terms of mechanical characteristics --- the Young's moduli for Hertzian and bending deformations E_H and E_b, and the probability distribution of the maximum strength with the strength of the strongest beam F_b^* and the beams' failure rate m. The theory is applied to successfully characterize the $FX$ curves for spherical virus particles --- CCMV, TrV, and AdV.

On the basis of the computed results got by the Gaussian 94 package at B3LYP/6-311 + +G * * level, the reactionmechanism of CH3O radical with CO has been investigated thoroughly via the vibrational model analysis. And the relationships among the reactants, eight transition states, four intermediates and various products involved this multichannel reaction are elucidated. The vibrational mode analysis shows that the reactionmechanism is reliable.

Full Text Available The mechanical properties of virus capsids correlate with local conformational dynamics in the capsid structure. They also reflect the required stability needed to withstand high internal pressures generated upon genome loading and contribute to the success of important events in viral infectivity, such as capsid maturation, genome uncoating and receptor binding. The mechanical properties of biological nanoparticles are often determined from monitoring their dynamic deformations in Atomic Force Microscopy nanoindentation experiments; but a comprehensive theory describing the full range of observed deformation behaviors has not previously been described. We present a new theory for modeling dynamic deformations of biological nanoparticles, which considers the non-linear Hertzian deformation, resulting from an indenter-particle physical contact, and the bending of curved elements (beams modeling the particle structure. The beams' deformation beyond the critical point triggers a dynamic transition of the particle to the collapsed state. This extreme event is accompanied by a catastrophic force drop as observed in the experimental or simulated force (F-deformation (X spectra. The theory interprets fine features of the spectra, including the nonlinear components of the FX-curves, in terms of the Young's moduli for Hertzian and bending deformations, and the structural damage dependent beams' survival probability, in terms of the maximum strength and the cooperativity parameter. The theory is exemplified by successfully describing the deformation dynamics of natural nanoparticles through comparing theoretical curves with experimental force-deformation spectra for several virus particles. This approach provides a comprehensive description of the dynamic structural transitions in biological and artificial nanoparticles, which is essential for their optimal use in nanotechnology and nanomedicine applications.

This paper reviews the recent advances in computational methods for nonlinear normal modes (NNMs). Different algorithms for the computation of undamped and damped NNMs are presented, and their respective advantages and limitations are discussed. The methods are illustrated using various applications ranging from low-dimensional weakly nonlinear systems to strongly nonlinear industrial structures.

A 4-species 4-step global reactionmechanism for detonation calculations is derived from detailed chemistry through thermochemical approach. Reaction species involved in the mechanism and their corresponding molecular weight and enthalpy data are derived from the real equilibrium properties. By substituting these global species into the results of constant volume explosion and examining the evolution process of these global species under varied conditions, reaction paths and corresponding rates are summarized and formulated. The proposed mechanism is first validated to the original chemistry through calculations of the CJ detonation wave, adiabatic constant volume explosion, and the steady reaction structure after a strong shock wave. Good agreement in both reaction scales and averaged thermodynamic properties has been achieved. Two sets of reaction rates based on different detailed chemistry are then examined and applied for numerical simulations of two-dimensional cellular detonations. Preliminary results and a brief comparison between the two mechanisms are presented. The proposed global mechanism is found to be economic in computation and also competent in description of the overall characteristics of detonation wave. Though only stoichiometric acetylene-oxygen mixture is investigated in this study, the method to derive such a global reactionmechanism possesses a certain generality for premixed reactions of most lean hydrocarbon mixtures.

The EU directive 2001/85/EC is an official European text which describes the specifications for "single deck class II and III vehicles" required to be approved by the regulation UN/ECE no.66 (R66). To prevent the catastrophic consequences by occupant during an accident, the Malaysian government has reinforced the same regulation upon superstructure construction. This paper discusses collapse mechanism analysis of a superstructure vehicle using a Crash D nonlinear analysis computer program based on this regulation. The analysis starts by hand calculation to define the required energy absorption by the chosen structure. Simple calculations were then performed to define the weakest collapse mechanism after undesirable collapse modes are eliminated. There are few factors highlighted in this work to pass the regulation. Using the selected cross section, Crash D simulation showed a good result. Generally, the deformation is linearly correlates to the energy absorption for the structure with low stiffness. Failure of critical members such as vertical lower side wall must be avoided to sustain safety of the passenger compartment and prevent from severe and fatal injuries to the trapped occupant.

We elaborate on the physical meaning of the non-linear master equation that was recently derived to account for spin-selective radical-ion-pair reactions. Based on quite general arguments, we show that such a non-linear master equation is indeed to be expected.

This paper studies a mathematical formalism of nonequilibrium thermodynamics for chemical reaction models with N species, M reactions, and general rate law. We establish a mathematical basis for J. W. Gibbs' macroscopic chemical thermodynamics under G. N. Lewis' kinetic law of entire equilibrium (detailed balance in nonlinear chemical kinetics). In doing so, the equilibrium thermodynamics is then naturally generalized to nonequilibrium settings without detailed balance. The kinetic models are represented by a Markovian jumping process. A generalized macroscopic chemical free energy function and its associated balance equation with nonnegative source and sink are the major discoveries. The proof is based on the large deviation principle of this type of Markov processes. A general fluctuation dissipation theorem for stochastic reaction kinetics is also proved. The mathematical theory illustrates how a novel macroscopic dynamic law can emerges from the mesoscopic kinetics in a multi-scale system.

In this work, a nonlinear ultrasonic modulation technique is employed to assess the damage state of portland cement mortar samples induced by alkali-silica reaction (ASR). Due to the nonlinear interaction of propagating waves caused by distributed microcracks that are agitated from its equilibrium state, the ultrasonic responses of samples produce sideband frequencies around the frequency of propagating waves. The amplitude of the sidebands depends on the amplitude of the input signals and is particularly sensitive to the state of damage evolved in the sample. Therefore, the development of internal microcracks with increasing duration of exposure to aggressive conditions can be quantitatively related to the variation of external ultrasonic measurements. The ultrasonic results are compared with results from standard ASR expansion measurements (ASTM C 1260), and a proportionally increasing relation was found in the early stages. In addition, aggregates with different alkali-reactivity (i.e., low reactivity or high reactivity) were examined in a similar manner. The results indicate that the nonlinear parameter obtained from ultrasonic tests directly reflects the difference of aggregate reactivity. This clearly indicates that the developed nonlinear ultrasonic method is potentially a good alternative for a more rapid and still reliable assessment of aggregate alkali-reactivity.

This paper is devoted to the understanding of the reactionmechanism of mycobacterium tuberculosis glutamine synthetase (mtGS) with atomic detail, using computational quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods at the ONIOM M06-D3/6-311++G(2d,2p):ff99SB//B3LYP/6-31G(d):ff99SB level of theory. The complete reaction undergoes a three-step mechanism: the spontaneous transfer of phosphate from ATP to glutamate upon ammonium binding (ammonium quickly loses a proton to Asp54), the attack of ammonia on phosphorylated glutamate (yielding protonated glutamine), and the deprotonation of glutamine by the leaving phosphate. This exothermic reaction has an activation free energy of 21.5 kcal mol(-1) , which is consistent with that described for Escherichia coli glutamine synthetase (15-17 kcal mol(-1) ). The participating active site residues have been identified and their role and energy contributions clarified. This study provides an insightful atomic description of the biosynthetic reaction that takes place in this enzyme, opening doors for more accurate studies for developing new anti-tuberculosis therapies.

[reaction: see text] A recently reported multicomponent reaction (MCR) produces pyrido[1,2-a]pyrazines and not the previously described 1H-imidazol-4-yl-pyridines. This different structure is proposed on the basis of a new mechanism of formation and the spectroscopic data.

The improved 3-step preparation of a key antitumor agent, 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin(SN-38), which consists of ethylation, oxidation and photo-chemical rearrangement, is described. The proposed reactionmechanism is also discussed.

Understanding the mechanisms by which shock waves initiate chemical reactions in explosives is key to understanding their unique and defining property: the ability to undergo rapid explosive decomposition in response to mechanical stimulus. Although shock-induced reactions in explosives have been studied experimentally and computationally for decades, the nature of even the first chemical reactions that occur in response to shock remain elusive. To predictively understand how explosives respond to shock, the detailed sequence of events that occurs - mechanical deformation, energy transfer, bond breakage, and first chemical reactions - must be understood at the quantum-mechanical level. This paper reviews recent work in this field and ongoing experimental and theoretical work at Sandia National Laboratories in this important area of explosive science.

Expanded mixed finite element approximation of nonlinearreaction-diffusion equations is discussed. The equations considered here are used to model the hydrologic and bio-geochemical phenomena. To linearize the mixed-method equations, we use a two-grid method involving a small nonlinear system on a coarse gird of size H and a linear system on a fine grid of size h. Error estimates are derived which demonstrate that the error is O(△t + hk+1 + H2k+2-d/2) (k ≥ 1), where k is the degree of the approximating space for the primary variable and d is the spatial dimension. The above estimates are useful for determining an appropriate H for the coarse grid problems.

In these five decades, many useful tools have been developed for exploring quantum chemical potential energy surfaces. The success in theoretical studies of chemical reactionmechanisms has been greatly supported by these tools. However, systematic prediction of reactionmechanisms starting only from given reactants and catalysts is still very difficult. Toward this goal, we describe the artificial force induced reaction (AFIR) method for automatically finding reaction paths of type A + B → X (+ Y). By imposing an artificial force to given reactants and catalysts, the method can find the reactive sites very efficiently. Further pressing by the artificial force provides approximate transition states and product structures, which can be easily reoptimized to the corresponding true ones. This procedure can be executed very efficiently just by minimizing a single function called the AFIR function. All important reaction paths can be found by repeating this cycle starting from many initial orientations. We also discuss perspectives of automated reaction path search methods toward the above goal.

The reactions of 1-pentenyl decomposition system have been studied extensively at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level with Gaussion 98 package. The potential energy surface with zero-point energy correction was drawn. All reaction channels were fully investigated with the vibrational mode analysis, frontier orbital analysis and electron population analysis to confirm the transition states and reveal the reactionmechanism.

The "curly arrow" of Robinson and Ingold is the primary tool for describing and rationalizing reactionmechanisms. Despite this approach's ubiquity and stellar success, its physical basis has never been clarified and a direct connection to quantum chemistry has never been found. Here we report that the bond rearrangements expressed by curly arrows can be directly observed in ab initio computations, as transformations of intrinsic bond orbitals (IBOs) along the reaction coordinate. Our results clarify that curly arrows are rooted in physical reality-a notion which has been challenged before-and show how quantum chemistry can directly establish reactionmechanisms in intuitive terms and unprecedented detail.

In this paper, the Max-Min Method is utilized for solving the nonlinear oscillation problems. The proposed approach is applied to three systems with complex nonlinear terms in their motion equations. By means of this method, the dynamic behavior of oscillation systems can be easily approximated u...

Based on the technique of integral within an ordered product of nonlinear bosonic operators, we construct a new kind of tripartite nonlinear entangled state |α,γ>λ in 3-mode Fock space, which can make up a complete set. We also simply discuss its properties and application.

This study presents a nonlinear piezoelectric energy harvester with intent to scavenge energy from diverse mechanical motions. The harvester consists of four piezoelectric cantilever beams, a cylindrical track, and a ferromagnetic ball, with magnets integrated to introduce the magnetic coupling between the ball and the beams. The experimental results demonstrate that the harvester is able to collect energy from various directions of vibrations. For the vibrations perpendicular to the ground, the maximum peak voltage is increased by 3.2 V and the bandwidth of the voltage above 4 V is increased by more than 4 Hz compared to the results obtained when using a conventional design. For the vibrations along the horizontal direction, the frequency up-conversion is realized through the magnetic coupling. Moreover, the proposed design can harvest energy from the sway motion around different directions on the horizontal plane. Harvesting energy from the rotation motion is also achieved with an operating bandwidth of approximately 6 Hz.

Nonlinearity in macroscopic mechanical systems may lead to abundant phenomena for fundamental studies and potential applications. However, it is difficult to generate nonlinearity due to the fact that macroscopic mechanical systems follow Hooke's law and respond linearly to external force, unless strong drive is used. Here we propose and experimentally realize high cubic nonlinear response in a macroscopic mechanical system by exploring the anharmonicity in chemical bonding interactions. We demonstrate the high tunability of nonlinear response by precisely controlling the chemical bonding interaction, and realize, at the single-bond limit, a cubic elastic constant of 1 × 1020 N m-3. This enables us to observe the resonator's vibrational bi-states transitions driven by the weak Brownian thermal noise at 6 K. This method can be flexibly applied to a variety of mechanical systems to improve nonlinear responses, and can be used, with further improvements, to explore macroscopic quantum mechanics.

The nonlinear nonlocal singularly perturbed initial boundary value problems for reaction diffusion equations with a boundary perturbation is considered. Under suitable conditions, the outer solution of the original problem is obtained. Using the stretched variable, the composing expansion method and the expanding theory of power series the initial layer is constructed. And then using the theory of differential inequalities the asymptotic behavior of solution for the initial boundary value problems is studied. Finally the existence and uniqueness of solution for the original problem and the uniformly valid asymptotic estimation are discussed.

The identification of the population density of a logistic equation backwards in time associated with nonlocal diffusion and nonlinearreaction, motivated by biology and ecology fields, is investigated. The diffusion depends on an integral average of the population density whilst the reaction term is a global or local Lipschitz function of the population density. After discussing the ill-posedness of the problem, we apply the quasi-reversibility method to construct stable approximation problems. It is shown that the regularized solutions stemming from such method not only depend continuously on the final data, but also strongly converge to the exact solution in L 2-norm. New error estimates together with stability results are obtained. Furthermore, numerical examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical results.

Here, we apply the harmonic Fourier beads (HFB) path optimization method to study chemical reactions involving covalent bond breaking and forming on quantum mechanical (QM) and hybrid QM∕molecular mechanical (QM∕MM) potential energy surfaces. To improve efficiency of the path optimization on such computationally demanding potentials, we combined HFB with conjugate gradient (CG) optimization. The combined CG-HFB method was used to study two biologically relevant reactions, namely, L- to D-alanine amino acid inversion and alcohol acylation by amides. The optimized paths revealed several unexpected reaction steps in the gas phase. For example, on the B3LYP∕6-31G(d,p) potential, we found that alanine inversion proceeded via previously unknown intermediates, 2-iminopropane-1,1-diol and 3-amino-3-methyloxiran-2-ol. The CG-HFB method accurately located transition states, aiding in the interpretation of complex reactionmechanisms. Thus, on the B3LYP∕6-31G(d,p) potential, the gas phase activation barriers for the inversion and acylation reactions were 50.5 and 39.9 kcal∕mol, respectively. These barriers determine the spontaneous loss of amino acid chirality and cleavage of peptide bonds in proteins. We conclude that the combined CG-HFB method further advances QM and QM∕MM studies of reactionmechanisms.

) and the linearity of the magnetic material is therefore of great importance. This thesis describes the inherent nonlinear parameters of the balanced-armature loudspeaker and demonstrates how the nonlinearity of these parameters may be reduced by design. A sim- ple technique for incorporating magnetic leakage...... and to validate simpler equivalent circuit models. A large scale model of a balanced-armature loudspeaker has been developed and its inherent nonlinear parameters have been measured and compared to the theoretically predicted values. A measurement setup for determining the magnetic properties of soft magnetic...... materials has also been developed, since it is of great importance to understand what kind of linear and nonlinear transformations the magnetic materials impose on the signal. In hearing aid applications the power efficiency of the loudspeaker is important because every reduction in power consumption...

In this letter, we experimentally investigate the directional characteristics of propagating, finite-amplitude wave packets in lattice materials, with an emphasis on the functionality enhancement due to the nonlinearly-generated higher harmonics. To this end, we subject a thin, periodically perforated sheet to out-of-plane harmonic excitations, and we design a systematic measurement and data processing routine that leverages the full-wavefield reconstruction capabilities of a laser vibrometer to precisely delineate the effects of nonlinearity. We demonstrate experimentally that the interplay of dispersion, nonlinearity, and modal complexity which is involved in the generation and propagation of higher harmonics gives rise to secondary wave packets with characteristics that conform to the dispersion relation of the corresponding linear structure. Furthermore, these nonlinearly generated wave features display modal and directional characteristics that are complementary to those exhibited by the fundamental harm...

This thesis reports a study of the mechanism of ruthenium tetroxide mediated oxidations of saturated hydrocarbons, ethers, alkenes and alcohols. Several methods were used. The RuO{sub 4}-mediated oxidations of adamantane and cis-decalin were studied in CCl{sub 4}-CH{sub 3}CN-H{sub 2}O and in acetone-water. The rate of reaction was found to be moderately influenced by the polarity of the solvent. Solvent properties other than the polarity were also found to influence the reaction rates. From the oxidations of adamantane and adamantane-1,3,5,7-d{sub 4} two primary kinetic deuterium isotope effects were found. These were comparable with the deuterium isotope effects found for the analogous oxidations of cis-decalin and cis-decalin-d{sub 18}. The results seem to exclude both a one step hydride abstraction reactionmechanism and a one step concerted mechanism, as well as a scheme where two such mechanisms compete. The observations may be explained by a two step reactionmechanism consisting of a pre-equilibrium with formation of a substrate-RuO{sub 4} complex followed by a concerted rate determining reaction. The RuO{sub 4}-mediated oxidation of ethers was of kinetic second order with a small enthalpy of activation and a large negative entropy of activation. Oxidation of cyclopropylmethyl methyl ether gave methyl cyclopropanecarboxylate, no rearranged products were observed. On RuO{sub 4} oxidations in CCl{sub 4} with NaIO{sub 4} as stoichiometric oxidant, no chlorinated products were observed. Several observations not in agreement with a hydride or a hydrogen abstraction mechanism may be explained by assuming that the reaction proceeds by either a concerted reaction or by a reversible oxidative addition of the ether to RuO{sub 4} followed by a slow concerted step. 228 refs., 9 figs., 27 tabs.

When laboratory-measured chemical reaction rates are used in simulations at the field-scale, the models typically overpredict the apparent reaction rates. The discrepancy is primarily due to poorer mixing of chemically distinct waters at the larger scale. As a result, realistic field-scale predictions require accurate simulation of the degree of mixing between fluids. The Lagrangian particle-tracking (PT) method is a now-standard way to simulate the transport of conservative or sorbing solutes. The method's main advantage is the absence of numerical dispersion (and its artificial mixing) when simulating advection. New algorithms allow particles of different species to interact in nonlinear (e.g., bimolecular) reactions. Therefore, the PT methods hold a promise of more accurate field-scale simulation of reactive transport because they eliminate the masking effects of spurious mixing due to advection errors inherent in grid-based methods. A hypothetical field-scale reaction scenario is constructed and run in PT and Eulerian (finite-volume/finite-difference) simulators. Grid-based advection schemes considered here include 1st- to 3rd-order spatially accurate total-variation-diminishing flux-limiting schemes, both of which are widely used in current transport/reaction codes. A homogeneous velocity field in which the Courant number is everywhere unity, so that the chosen Eulerian methods incur no error when simulating advection, shows that both the Eulerian and PT methods can achieve convergence in the L1 (integrated concentration) norm, but neither shows stricter pointwise convergence. In this specific case with a constant dispersion coefficient and bimolecular reaction A + B → P , the correct total amount of product is 0.221MA0, where MA0 is the original mass of reactant A. When the Courant number drops, the grid-based simulations can show remarkable errors due to spurious over- and under-mixing. In a heterogeneous velocity field (keeping the same constant and

Full Text Available Initially, the Atherton–Todd (AT reaction was applied for the synthesis of phosphoramidates by reacting dialkyl phosphite with a primary amine in the presence of carbon tetrachloride. These reaction conditions were subsequently modified with the aim to optimize them and the reaction was extended to different nucleophiles. The mechanism of this reaction led to controversial reports over the past years and is adequately discussed. We also present the scope of the AT reaction. Finally, we investigate the AT reaction by means of exemplary applications, which mainly concern three topics. First, we discuss the activation of a phenol group as a phosphate which allows for subsequent transformations such as cross coupling and reduction. Next, we examine the AT reaction applied to produce fire retardant compounds. In the last section, we investigate the use of the AT reaction for the production of compounds employed for biological applications. The selected examples to illustrate the applications of the Atherton–Todd reaction mainly cover the past 15 years.

The reactionmechanism of photochemical reaction between Br2 ( 1 ∑ ) and OCS ( 1 ∑ ) is predicted by means of theoretical methods. The calculated results indicate that the direct addition of Br2 to the CS bond of OCS molecule is more favorable in energy than the direct addition of Br2to the CO bond. Furthermore, the intermediate isomer syn-BrC(O)SBr is more stable thermodynamically and kinetically than anti-BrC(O)SBr. The original resultant anti-BrC(O)SBr formed in the most favorable reaction channel can easily isomerize into the final product syn-BrC(O)SBr with only 31.72 kJ/mol reaction barrier height. The suggested mechanism is in good agreement with previous experimental study.

We distinguish a mechanical representation of the world in terms of point masses with positions and momenta and the chemical representation of the world in terms of populations of different individuals, each with intrinsic stochasticity, but population wise with statistical rate laws in their syntheses, degradations, spatial diffusion, individual state transitions, and interactions. Such a formal kinetic system in a small volume $V$, like a single cell, can be rigorously treated in terms of a Markov process describing its nonlinear kinetics as well as nonequilibrium thermodynamics at a mesoscopic scale. We introduce notions such as open, driven chemical systems, entropy production, free energy dissipation, etc. Then in the macroscopic limit, we illustrate how two new "laws", in terms of a generalized free energy of the mesoscopic stochastic dynamics, emerge. Detailed balance and complex balance are two special classes of "simple" nonlinear kinetics. Phase transition is intrinsically related to multi-stability...

We report a combined quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) study on the mechanism of the enzymatic Baeyer-Villiger reaction catalyzed by cyclohexanone monooxygenase (CHMO). In QM/MM geometry optimizations and reaction path calculations, density functional theory (B3LYP/TZVP) is used to describe the QM region consisting of the substrate (cyclohexanone), the isoalloxazine ring of C4a-peroxyflavin, the side chain of Arg-329, and the nicotinamide ring and the adjacent ribose of NADP(+), while the remainder of the enzyme is represented by the CHARMM force field. QM/MM molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations at the semiempirical OM3/CHARMM level employ the same QM/MM partitioning. According to the QM/MM calculations, the enzyme-reactant complex contains an anionic deprotonated C4a-peroxyflavin that is stabilized by strong hydrogen bonds with the Arg-329 residue and the NADP(+) cofactor. The CHMO-catalyzed reaction proceeds via a Criegee intermediate having pronounced anionic character. The initial addition reaction has to overcome an energy barrier of about 9 kcal/mol. The formed Criegee intermediate occupies a shallow minimum on the QM/MM potential energy surface and can undergo fragmentation to the lactone product by surmounting a second energy barrier of about 7 kcal/mol. The transition state for the latter migration step is the highest point on the QM/MM energy profile. Gas-phase reoptimizations of the QM region lead to higher barriers and confirm the crucial role of the Arg-329 residue and the NADP(+) cofactor for the catalytic efficiency of CHMO. QM/MM calculations for the CHMO-catalyzed oxidation of 4-methylcyclohexanone reproduce and rationalize the experimentally observed (S)-enantioselectivity for this substrate, which is governed by the conformational preferences of the corresponding Criegee intermediate and the subsequent transition state for the migration step.

In recent years, on-surface synthesis has become an increasingly popular strategy to form covalent nanostructures. The approach has great prospects for facilitating the manufacture of a range of fascinating materials with atomic precision. However, the on-surface reactions are enigmatic to control, currently restricting its bright perspectives and there is a great need to explore how the reactions are governed. The objective of this topical review is to summarize theoretical work that has focused on comprehending on-surface synthesis protocols through studies of reactionmechanisms.

Full Text Available Cyclodextrins are well-known macrocyclic oligosaccharides that consist of α-(1,4 linked glucose units and have been widely used as artificial enzymes, chiral separators, chemical sensors, and drug excipients, owing to their hydrophobic and chiral interiors. Due to their remarkable inclusion capabilities with small organic molecules, more recent interests focus on organic reactions catalyzed by cyclodextrins. This contribution outlines the current progress in cyclodextrin-catalyzed organic reactions. Particular emphases are given to the organic reactionmechanisms and their applications. In the end, the future directions of research in this field are proposed.

The purpose of this review is to bring together and to correlate the wide variety of experimental studies that provide information on the reaction products and reactionmechanisms involved in the radiolysis of peptides, polypeptides and proteins (including chromosomal proteins) in both aqueous and solid-state systems. The comparative radiation chemistry of these systems is developed in terms of specific reactions of the peptide main-chain and the aliphatic, aromatic-unsaturated and sulfur-containing side-chains. Information obtained with the various experimental techniques of product analysis, competition kinetics, spin-trapping, pulse radiolysis and ESR spectroscopy is included. 147 refs.

Monolithic three-way catalysts are applied to reduce the emission of combustion engines. The design of such a catalytic converter is a complex process involving the optimization of different physical and chemical parameters (in the simplest case, e.g., length, cell densities or metal coverage of the catalyst). Numerical simulation can be used as an effective tool for the investigation of the catalytic properties of a catalytic converter and for the prediction of the performance of the catalyst. To attain this goal, a two-dimensional flow-field description is coupled with a detailed surface reaction model (gas-phase reactions can be neglected in three-way catalysts). This surface reactionmechanism (with C3H6 taken as representative of unburnt hydrocarbons) was developed using sub-mechanisms recently developed for hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane oxidation, literature values for C3H6 oxidation, and estimates for the remaining unknown reactions. Results of the simulation of a monolithic single channel are used to validate the surface reactionmechanism. The performance of the catalyst was simulated under lean, nearly stoichiometric and rich conditions. For these characteristic conditions, the oxidation of propene and carbon monoxide and the reduction of NO on a typical Pt/Rh coated three-way catalyst were simulated as a function of temperature. The numerically predicted conversion data are compared with experimentally measured data. The simulation further reveals the coupling between chemical reactions and transport processes within the monolithic channel.

A method for systematically developing a reduced chemical reactionmechanism for dynamic modeling of chemically reactive flows is presented. The method is based on the postulate that if a reduced reactionmechanism faithfully describes the time evolution of both thermal and chain reaction processes characteristic of a more complete mechanism, then the reduced mechanism will describe the chemical processes in a chemically reacting flow with approximately the same degree of accuracy. Here this postulate is tested by producing a series of mechanisms of reduced accuracy, which are derived from a full detailed mechanism for methane-oxygen combustion. These mechanisms were then tested in a series of reactive flow calculations in which a large-amplitude sinusoidal perturbation is applied to a system that is initially quiescent and whose temperature is high enough to start ignition processes. Comparison of the results for systems with and without convective flow show that this approach produces reduced mechanisms that are useful for calculations of explosions and detonations. Extensions and applicability to flames are discussed.

A chemical kinetic model has been developed which describes pyrolysis, ignition and oxidation of many small hydrocarbon fuels over a wide range of experimental conditions. Fuels include carbon monoxide and hydrogen, methane and other alkane species up to n-butane, ethylene, propene, acetylene, and oxygenated species such as methanol, acetaldehyde and ethanol. Formation of some larger intermediate and product species including benzene, butadiene, large olefins, and cyclopentadiene has been treated in a semi-empirical manner. The reactionmechanism has been tested for conditions that do not involve transport and diffusional processes, including plug flow and stirred reactors, batch reactors and shock tubes. The present kinetic model and its validation differ from previous reactionmechanisms in two ways. First, in addition to conventional combustion data, experiments more commonly associated with chemical engineering problems such as oxidative coupling, oxidative pyrolysis and steam cracking are used to test the reactionmechanism, making it even more general than previous models. In addition, H atom abstraction and some other reaction rates, even for the smaller C{sub 2}, C{sub 3} and C{sub 4} species, are treated using approximations that facilitate future extensions to larger fuels in a convenient manner. Construction of the reactionmechanism and comparisons with experimental data illustrate the generality of the model.

Full Text Available Electromechanical actuators are used in a wide variety of aerospace applications such as missiles, aircrafts and spy-fly etc. In this work a linear and nonlinear fin actuator mathematical model has been developed and its response is investigated by developing an algorithm for the system using MATLAB. The algorithm used to the linear model is the state space algorithm while the algorithm used to the nonlinear model is the discrete algorithm. The huge moment constant is varied from (-3000 to 3000 and the damping ratio is varied from (0.4 to 0.8. The comparison between linear and nonlinear fin actuator response results shows that for linear model, the maximum overshoot is about 10%, rising time is 0.23 sec. and steady state occur at 0.51 sec., while For nonlinear model the maximum overshoot is about 5%, rising time is 0.26 sec. and steady state occurs at 2 sec.; i.e., the nonlinear fin actuator system gives faster and more accurate response than does the linear fin actuator system.

The aminofluorination of alkenes has become an attractive platform for the synthesis of β-amino-fluorinated compounds, valuable building blocks in medicinal and agricultural chemistry. The novel methodologies disclosed in recent years have unraveled a broad array of reactionmechanisms, so that the interest in these transformations transcends the mere synthetic aspects. This review aims to summarize the most relevant findings in this area attending at the nature of the fluorine source, and thus the specific mechanism operating in each of these transformations, namely electrophilic, nucleophilic, radical, and late transition metal-catalyzed reactions.

The thermal degradation reactionmechanism of xylose as hemicellulose model compound was investigated by using density functional theory methods M062X with the 6-31++G(d,p) basis set. Eight possible pyrolytic reaction pathways were proposed and the standard kinetic and thermodynamic parameters in all reaction pathways were calculated at different temperatures. In reaction pathway (1), xylose is first transformed into acyclic containing-carbonyl isomer, and then the isomer further decomposes through four possible pyrolysis pathways (1-1)-(1-4). Pathways (2) and (3) depict an immediate ring-opening process through the simultaneous breaking of C-O and C-C bonds. Pathways (4)-(7) describe the pyrolysis processes of various anhydro-xyloses through a direct ring-opening process. Pathway (8) gives the evolutionary process of pyranones. The calculation results show that reaction pathways (1), (2) and (5) are the major reaction channels and reaction pathways (3), (4), and (6)-(8) are the competitive reaction channels in pyrolysis of xylose. The major products of xylose pyrolysis are low molecular products such as 2-furaldehyde, glycolaldehyde, acetaldehyde, methylglyoxal and acetone, and the main competitive products are formaldehyde, formic acid, acetic acid, CO2, CH4, acetol, pyranone, and so on.

The elastic scattering and the 6He angular distributions were measured in 7Li + 7Li reaction at two energies, lab = 20 and 25 MeV. FRDWBA calculations have been performed to explain the measured 6He data. The calculations were very sensitive to the choice of the optical model potentials in entrance and exit channels. The one-step proton transfer was found to be the dominant reactionmechanism in 6He production.

Reaction coordinates are of central importance for correct understanding of reaction dynamics in complex systems, but their counter-intuitive nature made it a daunting challenge to identify them. Starting from an energetic view of a reaction process as stochastic energy flows biased towards preferred channels, which we deemed the reaction coordinates, we developed a rigorous scheme for decomposing energy changes of a system, both potential and kinetic, into pairwise components. The pairwise energy flows between different coordinates provide a concrete statistical mechanical language for depicting reactionmechanisms. Application of this scheme to the C7eq → C7ax transition of the alanine dipeptide in vacuum revealed novel and intriguing mechanisms that eluded previous investigations of this well studied prototype system for biomolecular conformational dynamics. Using a cost function developed from the energy decomposition components by proper averaging over the transition path ensemble, we were able to identify signatures of the reaction coordinates of this system without requiring any input from human intuition.

This paper presents a nonlinear finite element method to resolve the problem of the nonlinear contact between the drillstring and hole wall by using a Multi-directional Contact Gap Element (MCGE) contacting at appropriate positi o ns in each beam element. The method was successfully applied to the Daqing Oil F ield GP1 well. It was shown that the drillstring's contact resistance at any wel l depth could be obtained by calculations and that as the error in the calculati on of the hole top load is below 10%, the calculation result can provide theoret ical basis for the design and operation of drillstrings.

Full Text Available In the present work we analyze the characteristics of holographic grating recording and consider a mechanism of optical nonlinearity in the lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC — viologen samples. Taking into account structural and electrooptical properties of the admixture molecules it is possible to suggest that the recording is realized due to the change of polarizability of π-electron system of coloured viologen derivatives under the action of laser radiation. The main nonlinear optical parameters such as nonlinear refraction coefficient n2, cubic nonlinear susceptibility χ(3, and hyperpolarizability γ were calculated.

Stochastic effects from correlated noise non-trivially modulate the kinetics of non-linear chemical reaction networks. This is especially important in systems where reactions are confined to small volumes and reactants are delivered in bursts. We characterise how the two noise sources confinement and burst modulate the relaxation kinetics of a non-linearreaction network around a non-equilibrium steady state. We find that the lifetimes of species change with burst input and confinement. Confinement increases the lifetimes of all species that are involved in any non-linearreaction as a reactant. Burst monotonically increases or decreases lifetimes. Competition between burst-induced and confinement-induced modulation may hence lead to a non-monotonic modulation. We quantify lifetime as the integral of the time autocorrelation function (ACF) of concentration fluctuations around a non-equilibrium steady state of the reaction network. Furthermore, we look at the first and second derivatives of the ACF, each of which is affected in opposite ways by burst and confinement. This allows discriminating between these two noise sources. We analytically derive the ACF from the linear Fokker-Planck approximation of the chemical master equation in order to establish a baseline for the burst-induced modulation at low confinement. Effects of higher confinement are then studied using a partial-propensity stochastic simulation algorithm. The results presented here may help understand the mechanisms that deviate stochastic kinetics from its deterministic counterpart. In addition, they may be instrumental when using fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) or fluorescence-correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to measure confinement and burst in systems with known reaction rates, or, alternatively, to correct for the effects of confinement and burst when experimentally measuring reaction rates.

A kind of infinite demensional nonlinear dynamical system described by functional differential equations with finite time delay is investigated in this paper The comparison principles of LRC type are established and applied to the problems of averaging principle and practical stability in terms of two measures for the system with time delay

The physical mechanism of nuclear reactions at low energies caused by spatial extension of electron is considered. Nuclear reactions of this type represent intra-electronic processes, more precisely, the processes occurring inside the area of basic localization of electron. Distinctive characteristics of these processes are defined by interaction of the own field produced by electrically charged matter of electron with free nuclei. Heavy nucleus, appearing inside the area of basic localization of electron, is inevitably deformed because of interaction of protons with the adjoining layers of electronic cloud, which may cause nuclear fission. If there occur "inside" electron two or greater number of light nuclei, an attractive force appears between the nuclei which may result in the fusion of nuclei. The intra-electronic mechanism of nuclear reactions is of a universal character. For its realization it is necessary to have merely a sufficiently intensive stream of free electrons, i.e. heavy electric current, an...

The hydroxylation reactionmechanism of nitrosodimethylamine(NDMA)by oxygen atom was theoretically investigated at the B3LYP/6-31G** level.It has been found that the path of the oxydation of the C-H bond is easier than the path involving a Singlet/Triplet crossing.The study of the potential surface shows that both solvent effect at B3LYP/6-31G** level and different method at more credible MP2/6-311G** level in the gas phase have no effect on the hydroxylation reactionmechanism.The oxidation hydroxylation process of NDMA by O is exothermic reaction and easy to occur.

The mechanisms of aluminophosphate oligomerization were investigated using density functional theory with the SMD solvation model. Two aluminum species, Al(OH)4(-) and Al(H2O)6(3+), and four phosphorus species, H3PO4, H2PO4(-), HPO4(2-), and PO4(3-), were considered as the monomers for polycondensation reactions. It was found that the most favorable pathway to dimerization was a Lewis acid-base reaction: the aprotic oxygen of phosphoric acid (P═O) performs a nucleophilic attack on the central aluminum atom of Al(OH)4(-). Using this mechanism as a pattern, plausible dimerization mechanisms were investigated by varying the proticity and hydration of the phosphorus and aluminum monomers, respectively. The relative reaction rates of each mechanism were estimated under different pH conditions. The chain growth of aluminophosphates to trimers, tetramers, and pentamers and the cyclization of a linear tetramer were also investigated. For oligomerization reactions beyond dimer formation, it is found that cluster growth favors the addition of the phosphoric monomers rather than aluminum monomers.

The determination of reaction paths for enzyme systems remains a great challenge for current computational methods. In this paper we present an efficient method for the determination of minimum energy reaction paths with the ab initio quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach. Our method is based on an adaptation of the path optimization procedure by Ayala and Schlegel for small molecules in gas phase, the iterative quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) optimization method developed earlier in our laboratory and the introduction of a new metric defining the distance between different structures in the configuration space. In this method we represent the reaction path by a discrete set of structures. For each structure we partition the atoms into a core set that usually includes the QM subsystem and an environment set that usually includes the MM subsystem. These two sets are optimized iteratively: the core set is optimized to approximate the reaction path while the environment set is optimized to the corresponding energy minimum. In the optimization of the core set of atoms for the reaction path, we introduce a new metric to define the distances between the points on the reaction path, which excludes the soft degrees of freedom from the environment set and includes extra weights on coordinates describing chemical changes. Because the reaction path is represented by discrete structures and the optimization for each can be performed individually with very limited coupling, our method can be executed in a natural and efficient parallelization, with each processor handling one of the structures. We demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of our method by testing it on two systems previously studied by our group, triosephosphate isomerase and 4-oxalocrotonate tautomerase. In both cases the minimum energy paths for both enzymes agree with the previously reported paths.

We study the statistical mechanics of the one-dimensional discrete nonlinear Schrödinger (DNLS) equation with saturable nonlinearity. Our study represents an extension of earlier work [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 3740 (2000)] regarding the statistical mechanics of the one-dimensional DNLS equation with a cubic nonlinearity. As in this earlier study, we identify the spontaneous creation of localized excitations with a discontinuity in the partition function. The fact that this phenomenon is retained in the saturable DNLS is nontrivial, since in contrast to the cubic DNLS whose nonlinear character is enhanced as the excitation amplitude increases, the saturable DNLS, in fact, becomes increasingly linear as the excitation amplitude increases. We explore the nonlinear dynamics of this phenomenon by direct numerical simulations.

This work considers a small random perturbation of alpha-stable jump type nonlinearreaction-diffusion equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions over an interval. It has two stable points whose domains of attraction meet in a separating manifold with several saddle points. Extending a method developed by Imkeller and Pavlyukevich it proves that in contrast to a Gaussian perturbation, the expected exit and transition times between the domains of attraction depend polynomially on the noise intensity in the small intensity limit. Moreover the solution exhibits metastable behavior: there is a polynomial time scale along which the solution dynamics correspond asymptotically to the dynamic behavior of a finite-state Markov chain switching between the stable states.

We consider in this paper a reaction-diffusion system in presence of a flow and under a KPP hypothesis. While the case of a single-equation has been extensively studied since the pioneering Kolmogorov-Petrovski-Piskunov paper, the study of the corresponding system with a Lewis number not equal to 1 is still quite open. Here, we will prove some results about the existence of travelling fronts and generalized travelling fronts solutions of such a system with the presence of a non-linear spacedependent loss term inside the domain. In particular, we will point out the existence of a minimal speed, above which any real value is an admissible speed. We will also give some spreading results for initial conditions decaying exponentially at infinity.

We consider in this paper a reaction-diffusion system in the presence of a flow and under a KPP hypothesis. While the case of a single-equation has been extensively studied since the pioneering Kolmogorov-Petrovski-Piskunov paper, the study of the corresponding system with a Lewis number not equal to 1 is still quite open. Here, we will prove some results about the existence of travelling fronts and generalized travelling fronts solutions of such a system with the presence of a nonlinear space-dependent loss term inside the domain. In particular, we will point out the existence of a minimal speed, above which any real value is an admissible speed. We will also give some spreading results for initial conditions decaying exponentially at infinity.

The simulation algorithm of step/hole coverage shape which could be applied at the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) system with the nonlinear surface reaction speed was devised. By combining with the conventional simple Monte Carlo calculation technique, the code which could simulate the coverage shape at high speed was made. It was quantitatively explainable in respect of raw material density dependence (fluoridation tungsten (6); WF{sub 6}) of the coverage shape, when this code was applied to the thermal CVD of tungsten (W) with nonlinear surface reaction. (translated by NEDO)

Stimulated Raman scattering of an ultraintense laser pulse in plasmas is studied by perturbatively including the leading order term of the Landau-Lifshitz radiation reaction force in the equation of motion for plasma electrons. In this approximation, the radiation reaction force causes a phase shift in nonlinear current densities that drive the two Raman sidebands (anti-Stokes and Stokes waves), manifesting itself into the nonlinear mixing of two sidebands. This mixing results in a strong enhancement in the growth of the forward Raman scattering instability.

Project Description: The general objective of the proposed research is to determine the kinetics and mechanisms of calcite reactions with saline waters over a wide range of saline water composition, pCO2, and modest ranges in T and P. This will be accomplished by studying both reaction rates and solubility from changes in solution chemistry, and making nanoscale observations of calcite precipitate surface morphology and composition at the micro-to-nano-scale to provide an understanding of controlling reactionmechanisms and pathways. The specific objectives necessary to reach the general objective are: a) determination of how pCO2, Ca2+, ionic strength and “foreign” ions influence reaction rates; and b) investigate the influence of these parameters on apparent kinetic solubility from dissolution and precipitation reactions. This information will clearly be central to the construction of reliable reaction-transport models to predict reservoir and formation response to increased CO2 in saline waters. This program was initially collaborative with John Morse at Texas A&M, however his passing shortly after the beginning of this program resulted in abbreviated research time and effort. Summary of Results: Early studies using electron microscopy and spectroscopy indicated that carbonate precipitation from natural seawater (NSW) conditions onto aragonite substrates was mediated by a surface amorphous calcium carbonate layer. It was hypothesized that this ACC layer (observed after < 5days reaction time) was responsible for the abnormal reaction kinetics and also served as a metastable seed layer for growth of epitaxial aragonite. Further studies of the ACC formation mechanism indicated a strong dependence on the Mg concentration in solution. Subsequent studies at shorter times (10 hrs) on calcite substrates and in a wide range of supersaturation conditions did not indicate any ACC layer. Instead, an epitaxial layer by layer

The condensation of benzaldehyde, urea, and ethyl acetoacetate according to the procedure described by Biginelli was investigated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d), B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p), and B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) levels to explore the reactionmechanism. According to the mechanism proposed by Kappe, structures of five intermediates were optimized and four transition states were found. The calculation results proved that the mechanism proposed by Kappe is right.

Kinetic studies of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase with NAD+ and ethanol, hexanol or decanol as substrates invariably result in non-linear Lineweaver-Burk plots if the alcohol is the variable substrate. The kinetic coefficients determined from secondary plots are consistent with an 'equilibrium random-order' mechanism for extremely low alcohol concentrations and for all alcohols, the transformation of the ternary complexes being the rate-limiting step of the reaction. This mechanism also applies to long-chain substrates at high concentrations, whereas the rate of the ethanol-NAD+ reaction at high ethanol concentrations is determined by the dissociation of the enzyme-NADH complex. The dissociation constants for the enzyme-NAD+ complex and for the enzyme-alcohol complexes obtained from the kinetic quotients satisfactorily correspond to the dissociation constants obtained by use of other techniques. It is suggested that the non-linear curves may be attributed to a structural change in the enzyme itself, caused by the alcohol. PMID:183740

We study the stability of the Vainshtein screening solution of the massive/bi-gravity based on the massive nonlinear sigma model as the effective action inside the Vainshtein radius. The effective action is obtained by taking the $\\Lambda_2$ decoupling limit around a curved spacetime. First we derive a general consequence that any Ricci flat Vainshtein screening solution is unstable when we take into account the excitation of the scalar graviton only. This instability suggests that the nonlinear excitation of the scalar graviton is not sufficient to obtain a successful Vainshtein screening in massive/bi-gravity. Then to see the role of the excitation of the vector graviton, we study perturbations around the static and spherically symmetric solution obtained in bigravity explicitly. As a result, we find that linear excitations of the vector graviton cannot be helpful and the solution still suffers from a ghost and/or a gradient instability for any parameters of the theory for this background.

In this work, we investigate mechanisms of chemical reactions that sustain an unsupported detonation. The chemical model of an energetic crystal used in this study consists of heteronuclear diatomic molecules that, at ambient pressure, dissociate endothermically. Subsequent association of the products to form homonuclear diatomic molecules provides the energy release that sustains the detonation. A many-body interaction is used to simulate changes in the electronic bonding as a function of local atomic environment. The consequence of the many-body interaction in this model is that the intramolecular bond is weakened with increasing density. The mechanism of the reaction for this model was extracted by investigating the details of the molecular properties in the reaction zone with two-dimensional molecular dynamics. The mechanism for the initiation of the reaction in this model is pressure-induced atomization. There was no evidence of excitation of vibrational modes to dissociative states. This particular result is directly attributable to the functional form and choice of parameters for this model, but might also have more general applicability.

Full Text Available Reactions induced by the weakly bound 6Li projectile interacting with the intermediate mass target 52Cr are investigated. The choice of this particular reaction in our study is because it is proposed as a surrogate reaction [6Li(52Cr, d56Fe*] for the measurement of 55Fe(n,p reaction cross-section, which has been found to be very important in fusion reactor studies. All the conditions which have to be satisfied for using the surrogate method have been checked. The energy of 6Li beam is selected in a way so as to get equivalent neutron energy in the region of 9-14 MeV, which is of primary interest in fusion reactor application. In the present work, statistical model calculations PACE (Projection-Angular-Momentum-Coupled-Evaporation, ALICE and Continuum-Discretized–Coupled-Channel (CDCC: FRESCO have been used to provide information for the 6Li + 52Cr system and the respective contributions of different reactionmechanisms. The present theoretical work is an important step in the direction towards studying the cross-section of the 55Fe(n, p55Mn reaction by surrogate method.

We study the input-output response of a streamwise constant projection of the Navier-Stokes equations for plane Couette flow, the so-called 2D/3C model. Study of a streamwise constant model is motivated by numerical and experimental observations that suggest the prevalence and importance of streamwise and quasi-streamwise elongated structures. Periodic spanwise/wall-normal (z-y) plane stream functions are used as input to develop a forced 2D/3C streamwise velocity field that is qualitatively similar to a fully turbulent spatial field of DNS data. The input-output response associated with the 2D/3C nonlinear coupling is used to estimate the energy optimal spanwise wavelength over a range of Reynolds numbers. The results of the input-output analysis agree with previous studies of the linearized Navier-Stokes equations. The optimal energy corresponds to minimal nonlinear coupling. On the other hand, the nature of the forced 2D/3C streamwise velocity field provides evidence that the nonlinear coupling in the 2D/3...

A detailed quantum chemical study is performed on the mechanism of the NCO + HCNO reaction, which has never been studied by theory. The potential energy surface for this reaction is characterized at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory, combined with high-level CBS-QB3 single point energy calculation. Four possible product channels have been investigated. From the calculations it can be seen that the formation of HCN + NO + CO is the dominant product channel, while the pathway to products of HCNN + CO 2 is expected to be minor one, and these conclusions are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Implementation of geometric nonlinearity in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) resonators offers a flexible and efficient design to overcome the limitations of linear MEMS by utilizing beneficial nonlinear characteristics not attainable in a linear setting. Integration of nonlinear coupling elements into an otherwise purely linear microcantilever is one promising way to intentionally realize geometric nonlinearity. Here, we demonstrate that a nonlinear, heterogeneous microresonator system, consisting of a silicon microcantilever with a polymer attachment exhibits strong nonlinear hardening behavior not only in the first flexural mode but also in the higher modes (i.e., second and third flexural modes). In this design, we deliberately implement a drastic and reversed change in the axial vs bending stiffness between the Si and polymer components by varying the geometric and material properties. By doing so, the resonant oscillations induce the large axial stretching within the polymer component, which effectively introduces the geometric stiffness and damping nonlinearity. The efficacy of the design and the mechanism of geometric nonlinearity are corroborated through a comprehensive experimental, analytical, and numerical (finite element) analysis on the nonlinear dynamics of the proposed system.

Although mammalian vocalizations are predominantly harmonically structured, they can exhibit an acoustic complexity with nonlinear vocal sounds, including deterministic chaos and frequency jumps. Such sounds are normative events in mammalian vocalizations, and can be directly traceable to the nonlinear nature of vocal-fold dynamics underlying typical mammalian sound production. In this study, we give qualitative descriptions and quantitative analyses of nonlinearities in the song repertoire of humpback whales from the Ste Marie channel (Madagascar) to provide more insight into the potential communication functions and underlying production mechanisms of these features. A low-dimensional biomechanical modeling of the whale’s U-fold (vocal folds homolog) is used to relate specific vocal mechanisms to nonlinear vocal features. Recordings of living humpback whales were searched for occurrences of vocal nonlinearities (instabilities). Temporal distributions of nonlinearities were assessed within sound units, and between different songs. The anatomical production sources of vocal nonlinearities and the communication context of their occurrences in recordings are discussed. Our results show that vocal nonlinearities may be a communication strategy that conveys information about the whale’s body size and physical fitness, and thus may be an important component of humpback whale songs. PMID:27721476

Although mammalian vocalizations are predominantly harmonically structured, they can exhibit an acoustic complexity with nonlinear vocal sounds, including deterministic chaos and frequency jumps. Such sounds are normative events in mammalian vocalizations, and can be directly traceable to the nonlinear nature of vocal-fold dynamics underlying typical mammalian sound production. In this study, we give qualitative descriptions and quantitative analyses of nonlinearities in the song repertoire of humpback whales from the Ste Marie channel (Madagascar) to provide more insight into the potential communication functions and underlying production mechanisms of these features. A low-dimensional biomechanical modeling of the whale’s U-fold (vocal folds homolog) is used to relate specific vocal mechanisms to nonlinear vocal features. Recordings of living humpback whales were searched for occurrences of vocal nonlinearities (instabilities). Temporal distributions of nonlinearities were assessed within sound units, and between different songs. The anatomical production sources of vocal nonlinearities and the communication context of their occurrences in recordings are discussed. Our results show that vocal nonlinearities may be a communication strategy that conveys information about the whale’s body size and physical fitness, and thus may be an important component of humpback whale songs.

The ATP synthase consists of two opposing rotary motors, F0 and F1, coupled to each other. When the F1 motor is not coupled to the F0 motor, it can work in the direction hydrolyzing ATP, as a nanomotor called F1-ATPase. It has been reported that the stiffness of the protein varies nonlinearly with increasing load. The nonlinearity has an important effect on the rotating rate of the F1-ATPase. Here, considering the nonlinearity of the γ shaft stiffness for the F1-ATPase, a nonlinear chemo-mechanical coupled dynamic model of F1 motor is proposed. Nonlinear vibration frequencies of the γ shaft and their changes along with the system parameters are investigated. The nonlinear stochastic response of the elastic γ shaft to thermal excitation is analyzed. The results show that the stiffness nonlinearity of the γ shaft causes an increase of the vibration frequency for the F1 motor, which increases the motor's rotation rate. When the concentration of ATP is relatively high and the load torque is small, the effects of the stiffness nonlinearity on the rotating rates of the F1 motor are obvious and should be considered. These results are useful for improving calculation of the rotating rate for the F1 motor and provide insight about the stochastic wave mechanics of F1-ATPase.

Previous studies showed the exchange rate changes can have significant impacts on macroeconomic performance. Over fluctuation of exchange rate may lead to economic instability. Hence, monetary policy rule tends to react to exchange rate changes. Especially, in emerging economies where the policy-maker tends to limit the exchange rate movement through interventions. In this study, we seek to investigate how the monetary policy rule reacts to exchange rate changes. The nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model is applied to capture the asymmetric effect of exchange rate changes on monetary policy reaction function (interest rate). We focus the study in ASEAN5 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore). The results indicated the existence of asymmetric effect of exchange rates changes on the monetary reaction function for all ASEAN5 countries in the long-run. Where, in majority of the cases the monetary policy is reacting to the appreciation and depreciation of exchange rate by raising the policy rate. This affirms the intervention of policymakers with the `fear of floating' behavior.

The mechanism of the reaction of Ni+ (2D) with ethane in the gas-phase was studied by using density functional theory. Both the B3LYP and BLYP functionals with standard all-electron basis sets are used to give the detailed information of the potential energy surface (PES) of [Ni, C2, H6 ] +. Tne mechanisms forming the products CH4 and H2 in the reaction of Ni+with ethane are proposed. The reductive eliminations of CH4and H2 are typical addition-elimination reactions. Each of the two reactions consists of two elementary steps: C-C or CH bond activations to form inserted species followed by isomerizations to form product-like intermediate. The rate determining steps for the elimination reatcions of forming CH4 and H2 are the isomerizations of the inserted species rather than C-C or C-H bond activations. The elimination reaction of forming H2 was found to be thermodynamically favored compared to that of CH4.

The frequencies and the decay rates of mesoscopic oscillators depend on vibration amplitudes. Nonlinear decay has been seen recently in various nano- and micro-mechanical systems. Here we consider a microscopic mechanism of nonlinear decay, the nonlinear coupling of the vibrational mode of interest, for example, a flexural mode, to other vibrations. Typically, the modes of interest have low eigenfrequencies ω0. Their decay comes from the coupling to acoustic-phonon type vibrations with much higher frequency and density of states. Thus, nonlinear decay requires quartic anharmonic coupling or cubic anharmonicity in the higher order. We find the decay rate for the inverse lifetime of the involved phonons, which is determined by the internal nonlinearity and the boundary scattering, being either much larger or smaller than ω0. The results extend the thermo-elastic, Akhiezer, and Landau-Rumer decay theory to nonlinear decay of mesoscopic modes and make specific predictions on the temperature and frequency dependence of the decay rate for different types of systems. We show that nonlinear decay is invariably accompanied by dephasing. We also show that in nano-electro-mechanical systems the decay rate can be electrostatically controlled.

From the demonstration of saturable absorption by Vavilow and Levshin in 1926, and with invention of the laser, unavailability of strongly nonlinear materials was a key obstacle for developing optical signal processing, in particular in transparent telecommunication networks. Today, most advanced photonic switching materials exploit gain dynamics and near-band and excitonic effects in semiconductors, nonlinearities in organic media with weakly-localized electrons and nonlinearities enhanced by hybridization with metamaterials. Here we report on a new type of artificial nonlinearity that is nano-opto-mechanical in nature. It was observed in an artificial metamaterial array of plasmonic meta-molecules supported by a flexible nano-membrane. Here nonlinearity is underpinned by the reversible reconfiguration of its structure induced by light. In a film of only 100 nanometres thickness we demonstrated modulation of light with light using milliwatt power telecom diode lasers.

, for mechanical system, is of the second order. The governing equations are coupled via linear and weakly non-linear terms. A classical perturbation method, a method of multiple scales, is used to find a steadystate response of the electro-mechanical system exposed to a harmonic close-resonance mechanical......Electro-mechanical devices are an example of coupled multi-disciplinary weakly non-linear systems. Dynamics of such systems is described in this paper by means of two mutually coupled differential equations. The first one, describing an electrical system, is of the first order and the second one...... excitation. The results are verified using a numerical model created in MATLAB Simulink environment. Effect of non-linear terms on dynamical response of the coupled system is investigated; the backbone and envelope curves are analyzed. The two phenomena, which exist in the electro-mechanical system: (a...

Various reactions for a stable dialkylsilylene, 2,2,5,5-tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)silacyclopentane-1,1-diyl (1), are summarized and their mechanisms are discussed. Silylene 1 isomerizes to the corresponding silaethene via the 1,2-trimethylsilyl migration. Reduction of 1 with alkali metals affords the corresponding radical anion 1.− with a relatively small 29Si hfs constant (2.99 mT) and a large g-factor (g = 2.0077) compared with those for trivalent silyl radicals. Photo-excitation of 1 generates the corresponding singlet excited state (11*) with the lifetime of 80.5 ns. The excited state reacts with C=C double bond compounds including benzene, naphthalene, and ()- and ()-2-butenes. Although the thermal reactions of 1 with haloalkanes occur via radical mechanisms, the insertion into O-H, Si-H and Si-Cl bonds proceeds concertedly via the threemembered cyclic transition states. The reaction of 1 with H2SiCl2 gives the Si-Cl insertion product exclusively, while the quantitative insertion to Si-H bond occurs when Me2SiHCl is used as a substrate. The origin of the rather unusual Si-H/Si-Cl selectivity is elucidated using DFT calculations. Silylene 1 adds to C=C, C≡C, and C=O bonds to afford the corresponding silacycles as stable compounds. The importance of the carbonyl silaylides during the reactions of silylenes with aldehydes and ketones is emphasized.

Optimization of new transportation fuels and engine technologies requires the characterization of the combustion chemistry of a wide range of fuel classes. Theoretical studies of elementary reactions — the building blocks of complex reactionmechanisms — are essential to accurately predict important combustion processes such as autoignition of biofuels. The current bottleneck for these calculations is a user-intensive exploration of the underlying potential energy surface (PES), which relies on the “chemical intuition” of the scientist to propose initial guesses for the relevant chemical configurations. For newly emerging fuels, this approach cripples the rate of progress because of the system size and complexity. The KinBot program package aims to accelerate the detailed chemical kinetic description of combustion, and enables large-scale systematic studies on the sub-mechanism level.

A detailed theoretical study of the nonlinear dynamics of gyrokinetic particle simulations of electrostatic collisionless and weakly collisional drift waves is presented. In previous studies it was shown that, in the nonlinearly saturated phase of the evolution, the saturation levels and especially the particle fluxes have an unexpected dependence on collisionality. In this paper, the explanations for these collisionality dependences are found to be as follows: The saturation level is determined by a balance between the electron and ion fluxes. The ion flux is small for levels of the potential below an E {times} B-trapping threshold and increases sharply once this threshold is crossed. Due to the presence of resonant electrons, the electron flux has a much smoother dependence on the potential. In the 2-1/2-dimensional ( pseudo-3D'') geometry, the electrons are accelerated away from the resonance as they diffuse spatially, resulting in an inhibition of their diffusion. Collisions and three-dimensional effects can repopulate the resonance thereby increasing the value of the particle flux. 30 refs., 32 figs., 2 tabs.

Optical spectra have been taken in the Soret band (440-400 nm) under different oxygen partial pressures for hemoglobin (Hb) A0 at pH 7.0, 15 degrees C, 2-3 mM heme, 30 mM inositol hexaphosphate, 0.1 Hepes and 0.1 M NaCl. Application of the matrix method of singular value decomposition (SVD) to the difference spectra for different oxygen pressures shows the presence of at least two distinct optical transitions. From this result one concludes that the optical response to oxygen binding is nonlinear in the Soret band. The degree of nonlinearity has been determined by fitting the data at different wavelengths to the four-step reaction Adair equation with the inclusion of optical parameters that describe the intermediate oxygenated species. It is found that the data are well-represented by two optical parameters at each wavelengths, one which represents the optical change for the addition of the first and second oxygen molecules and the other which corresponds to the change for the addition of the third and fourth oxygen molecules. The ratio of these optical parameters depends only moderately upon wavelength with an average value of 0.8 over the Soret band. Thus, there is an approx. 20% smaller optical response for the first two ligated species than that for the last two ligated species. The overall Adair equilibrium constants are evaluated as follows: beta 1 = 0.081 +/- 0.003 Torr-1, beta 2 = 2.53 x 10(-3) +/- 2.4 x 10(-4) Torr-2, beta 3 = 1.25 x 10(-5) +/- 1.0 x 10(-6) Torr-3, beta 4 = 1.77 x 10(-6) +/- 1.5 x 10(-7) Torr-4.

A number of recent studies have shown that mechanical stress can significantly lower or raise the activation barrier of a chemical reaction. Within a common approximation due to Bell [Science 200, 618 (1978)], this barrier is linearly dependent on the applied force. A simple extension of Bell's theory that includes higher order corrections in the force predicts that the force-induced change in the activation energy will be given by -FΔR - ΔχF(2)∕2. Here, ΔR is the change of the distance between the atoms, at which the force F is applied, from the reactant to the transition state, and Δχ is the corresponding change in the mechanical compliance of the molecule. Application of this formula to the electrocyclic ring-opening of cis and trans 1,2-dimethylbenzocyclobutene shows that this extension of Bell's theory essentially recovers the force dependence of the barrier, while the original Bell formula exhibits significant errors. Because the extended Bell theory avoids explicit inclusion of the mechanical stress or strain in electronic structure calculations, it allows a computationally efficient characterization of the effect of mechanical forces on chemical processes. That is, the mechanical susceptibility of any reaction pathway is described in terms of two parameters, ΔR and Δχ, both readily computable at zero force.

Quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods are excellent tools for the modeling of biomolecular reactions. Recently, we have implemented a new QM/MM method (Fireball/Amber), which combines an efficient density functional theory method (Fireball) and a well-recognized molecular dynamics package (Amber), offering an excellent balance between accuracy and sampling capabilities. Here, we present a detailed explanation of the Fireball method and Fireball/Amber implementation. We also discuss how this tool can be used to analyze reactions in biomolecules using steered molecular dynamics simulations. The potential of this approach is shown by the analysis of a reaction catalyzed by the enzyme triose-phosphate isomerase (TIM). The conformational space and energetic landscape for this reaction are analyzed without a priori assumptions about the protonation states of the different residues during the reaction. The results offer a detailed description of the reaction and reveal some new features of the catalytic mechanism. In particular, we find a new reactionmechanism that is characterized by the intramolecular proton transfer from O1 to O2 and the simultaneous proton transfer from Glu 165 to C2.

This book concerns the development of novel finite elements for the structural analysis of composite beams and blades. The introduction of material damping is also an important aspect of composite structures and it is presented here in terms of their static and dynamic behavior. The book thoroughly presents a new shear beam finite element, which entails new blade section mechanics, capable of predicting structural blade coupling due to composite coupling and/or internal section geometry. Theoretical background is further expanded towards the inclusion of nonlinear structural blade models and damping mechanics for composite structures. The models effectively include geometrically nonlinear terms due to large displacements and rotations, improve the modeling accuracy of very large flexible blades, and enable the modeling of rotational stiffening and buckling, as well as, nonlinear structural coupling. Validation simulations on specimen level study the geometric nonlinearities effect on the modal frequencies and...

In this paper, by capturing the atomic informa-tion and reflecting the behaviour governed by the nonlin-ear potential function, an analytical molecular mechanics approach is proposed. A constitutive relation for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT's) is established to describe the nonlinear stress-strain curve of SWCNT's and to predict both the elastic properties and breaking strain of SWCNT's during tensile deformation. An analysis based on the virtual internal bond (VIB) model proposed by P. Zhang et al. is also presented for comparison. The results indicate that the proposed molecular mechanics approach is indeed an acceptable analytical method for analyzing the mechanical behavior of SWCNT's.

The concept of reaction route (RR) graphs introduced recently by us for kinetic mechanisms that produce minimal graphs is extended to the problem of non-minimal kinetic mechanisms for the case of a single overall reaction (OR). A RR graph is said to be minimal if all of the stoichiometric numbers in all direct RRs of the mechanism are equal to +/-1 and non-minimal if at least one stoichiometric number in a direct RR is non-unity, e.g., equal to +/-2. For a given mechanism, four unique topological characteristics of RR graphs are defined and enumerated, namely, direct full routes (FRs), empty routes (ERs), intermediate nodes (INs), and terminal nodes (TNs). These are further utilized to construct the RR graphs. One algorithm involves viewing each IN as a central node in a RR sub-graph. As a result, the construction and enumeration of RR graphs are reduced to the problem of balancing the peripheral nodes in the RR sub-graphs according to the list of FRs, ERs, INs, and TNs. An alternate method involves using an independent set of RRs to draw the RR graph while satisfying the INs and TNs. Three examples are presented to illustrate the application of non-minimal RR graph theory.

Magnesium potassium phosphate cement (MKPC) is a kind of cementitious binder in which the chemical bond is formed via a heterogeneous acid-base reaction between dead burned magnesia powder and potassium phosphate solution at room temperature. Small amount of boron compounds can be incorporated in the cement as a setting retarder. The final reaction product of MgO-KH2PO4-H 2O ternary system is identified as magnesium potassium phosphate hexahydrate, MgKPO4·6H2O. However, the mechanisms and procedures through which this crystalline product is formed and the conditions under which the crystallization process would be influenced are not yet clear. Understanding of the reactionmechanism of the system is helpful for developing new methodologies to control the rapid reaction process and furthermore, to adjust the phase assemblage of the binder, and to enhance the macroscopic properties. This study is mainly focused on the examination of the reactionmechanism of MKPC. In addition, the formulation optimization, microstructure characterization and field application in rapid repair are also systematically studied. The chemical reactions between magnesia and potassium dihydrogen phosphate are essentially an acid-base reaction with strong heat release, the pH and temperature variation throughout the reaction process could provide useful information to disclose the different stages in the reaction. However, it would be very difficult to conduct such tests on the cement paste due to the limited water content and fast setting. In the current research, the reactionmechanism of MKPC is investigated on the diluted MKPC system through monitoring the pH and temperature development, identification of the solid phase formed, and measurement of the ionic concentration of the solution. The reaction process can be explained as follows: when magnesia and potassium phosphate powder are mixed with water, phosphate is readily dissolved, which is instantly followed by the dissociation of

The mechanism for the nucleophilic addition step of the Michael reaction between methanethiol as a model Michael donor and several α-substituted methyl acrylates (X=F, Cl, Me, H, CN, NO2 ) as model Michael acceptors is described in detail. We suggest a novel way to condense electrophilic Fukui functions at specific atoms in terms of the contributions from the atomic orbitals to the LUMO or, more generally, to the orbital controlling the reaction. This procedure correctly associates activation energies to local electrophilic Fukui indices for the cases treated in this work. The calculated reaction barriers strongly depend on the nature of the substituent. As a general rule, activation energies are governed by structural changes, although electronic factors are significant for electron-withdrawing groups. Nucleophilic addition to Michael receptors is best described as a highly nonsynchronous process, in which the geometry of the transition state comprises a nonplanar six-membered ring. Formation of the S⋅⋅⋅C bond, which defines the interaction between the reactants, progresses ahead of all other primitive processes in the early stages of the transformation. In view of our results, we postulate that highly complex chemical reactions, as is the case for the nucleophilic addition step studied herein, that involve cleavage/formation of a total of six bonds, lower their activation energies by favoring nonsynchronicity, that is, for these types of systems, primitive changes should advance at different rates.

The radical intermediates, the crosslink microstructures, and the reactionmechanism of benzophenone (BP)-photoinitiated crosslinking of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and model compounds (MD) have been reviewed in detail.The spin-trapping electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra obtained from the LDPE/BP systems with spin-trap agents showthat two kinds of polymer radical intermediates are mainly formed: tertiary carbon and secondary carbon radicals. The spin-trapping ESR studies of MD/BP systems give further evidence that photocrosslinking reactions of PE predominantly takeplace at sites of tertiary carbon, secondary carbon, and especially allylic carbon when available. The high resolution 13C-NMR spectra obtained from LDPE and MD systems show that the crosslink microstructures have H- and Y-type links andthat their concentrations are of the same order. The fluorescence, ESR, 13C and 1H-NMR spectra from the PE and MDsystems demonstrate that the main photoreduction product of BP (PPB) is benzpinacol formed by the recombination of twodiphenylhydroxymethyl (K*) radical intermediates. Two new PPB products: an isomer of benzpinacol with quinoid structure,1-phenylhydroxymethylene-4-diphenylhydroxymethyl-2,5-cyclohexadiene and three kinds of a-alkyl-benzhydrols have beendetected and identified. These results provide new experimental evidence for elucidating the reactionmechanism in the BP-photoinitiated crosslinking of polyethylene.

Macroscopic entropy production $\\sigma^{(tot)}$ in the general nonlinear isothermal chemical reaction system with mass action kinetics is decomposed into a free energy dissipation and a house-keeping heat: $\\sigma^{(tot)}=\\sigma^{(fd)}+\\sigma^{(hk)}$; $\\sigma^{(fd)}=-\\rd A/\\rd t$, where $A$ is a generalized free enegy function. This yields a novel nonequilibrium free energy balance equation $\\rd A/\\rd t=-\\sigma^{(tot)}+\\sigma^{(hk)}$, which is on a par with celebrated entropy balance equation $\\rd S/\\rd t=\\sigma^{(tot)}+\\eta^{(ex)}$ where $\\eta^{(ex)}$ is the rate of entropy exchange with the environment.For kinetic system with complex balance,$\\sigma^{(fd)},\\sigma^{(hk)}\\ge 0$: $\\sigma^{(fd)}$ characterizes the irreversibility of a transient relaxation kinetics; while $\\sigma^{(hk)}$ is positive even in a steady state, representing irreversibility in open,driven chemical systems with a chemostat.For kinetic system withoutcomplex balance, negative $\\sigma^{(fd)}$ is a necessary condition for multistability, w...

Computational approaches to understanding chemical reactionmechanisms generally begin by establishing the relative energies of the starting materials, transition state, and products, that is, the stationary points on the potential energy surface of the reaction complex. Examining the intervening species via the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) offers further insight into the fate of the reactants by delineating, step-by-step, the energetics involved along the reaction path between the stationary states. For a detailed analysis of the mechanism and dynamics of a chemical reaction, the reaction path Hamiltonian (RPH) and the united reaction valley approach (URVA) are an efficient combination. The chemical conversion of the reaction complex is reflected by the changes in the reaction path direction t(s) and reaction path curvature k(s), both expressed as a function of the path length s. This information can be used to partition the reaction path, and by this the reactionmechanism, of a chemical reaction into reaction phases describing chemically relevant changes of the reaction complex: (i) a contact phase characterized by van der Waals interactions, (ii) a preparation phase, in which the reactants prepare for the chemical processes, (iii) one or more transition state phases, in which the chemical processes of bond cleavage and bond formation take place, (iv) a product adjustment phase, and (v) a separation phase. In this Account, we examine mechanistic analysis with URVA in detail, focusing on recent theoretical insights (with a variety of reaction types) from our laboratories. Through the utilization of the concept of localized adiabatic vibrational modes that are associated with the internal coordinates, q(n)(s), of the reaction complex, the chemical character of each reaction phase can be identified via the adiabatic curvature coupling coefficients, A(n,s)(s). These quantities reveal whether a local adiabatic vibrational mode supports (A(n,s) > 0) or resists

In this paper, we pay attention to the analytical method named, ansatz method for finding the exact solutions of the variable-coefficient modified KdV equation and variable coefficient diffusion-reaction equation. As a result the singular 1-soliton solution is obtained. These solutions are important for the explanation of some practical physical problems. The obtained results show that these methods provides a powerful mathematical tool for solving nonlinear equations with variable coefficients. This method can be extended to solve other variable coefficient nonlinear partial differential equations.

Molecular interactions are wired in a fascinating way resulting in complex behavior of biological systems. Theoretical modeling provides a useful framework for understanding the dynamics and the function of such networks. The complexity of the biological networks calls for conceptual tools that manage the combinatorial explosion of the set of possible interactions. A suitable conceptual tool to attack complexity is compositionality, already successfully used in the process algebra field to model computer systems. We rely on the BlenX programming language, originated by the beta-binders process calculus, to specify and simulate high-level descriptions of biological circuits. The Gillespie's stochastic framework of BlenX requires the decomposition of phenomenological functions into basic elementary reactions. Systematic unpacking of complex reactionmechanisms into BlenX templates is shown in this study. The estimation/derivation of missing parameters and the challenges emerging from compositional model buildin...

Observables in coherent, multiple-pulse infrared spectroscopy may be computed from a vibrational nonlinear response function. This response function is conventionally calculated quantum-mechanically, but the challenges in applying quantum mechanics to large, anharmonic systems motivate the examination of classical mechanical vibrational nonlinear response functions. We present an approximate formulation of the classical mechanical third-order vibrational response function for an anharmonic solute oscillator interacting with a harmonic solvent, which establishes a clear connection between classical and quantum mechanical treatments. This formalism permits the identification of the classical mechanical analog of the pure dephasing of a quantum mechanical degree of freedom, and suggests the construction of classical mechanical analogs of the double-sided Feynman diagrams of quantum mechanics, which are widely applied to nonlinear spectroscopy. Application of a rotating wave approximation permits the analytic extraction of signals obeying particular spatial phase matching conditions from a classical-mechanical response function. Calculations of the third-order response function for an anharmonic oscillator coupled to a harmonic solvent are compared to numerically correct classical mechanical results.

This article introduces a discrete reaction-diffusion-mechanics (dRDM) model to study the effects of deformation on reaction-diffusion (RD) processes. The dRDM framework employs a FitzHugh-Nagumo type RD model coupled to a mass-lattice model, that undergoes finite deformations. The dRDM model describes a material whose elastic properties are described by a generalized Hooke's law for finite deformations (Seth material). Numerically, the dRDM approach combines a finite difference approach for the RD equations with a Verlet integration scheme for the equations of the mass-lattice system. Using this framework results were reproduced on self-organized pacemaking activity that have been previously found with a continuous RD mechanics model. Mechanisms that determine the period of pacemakers and its dependency on the medium size are identified. Finally it is shown how the drift direction of pacemakers in RDM systems is related to the spatial distribution of deformation and curvature effects.

Full Text Available This article introduces a discrete reaction-diffusion-mechanics (dRDM model to study the effects of deformation on reaction-diffusion (RD processes. The dRDM framework employs a FitzHugh-Nagumo type RD model coupled to a mass-lattice model, that undergoes finite deformations. The dRDM model describes a material whose elastic properties are described by a generalized Hooke's law for finite deformations (Seth material. Numerically, the dRDM approach combines a finite difference approach for the RD equations with a Verlet integration scheme for the equations of the mass-lattice system. Using this framework results were reproduced on self-organized pacemaking activity that have been previously found with a continuous RD mechanics model. Mechanisms that determine the period of pacemakers and its dependency on the medium size are identified. Finally it is shown how the drift direction of pacemakers in RDM systems is related to the spatial distribution of deformation and curvature effects.

This study investigated roles of interfacial reaction in fracture and fatigue of solder interconnects. The interfacial reaction phases in the as-reflowed and after aging were examined by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) while interfacial mechanical properties were determined from a flexural peel fracture mechanics technique. Because of their widespread uses in microelectronic packaging, SnPb solder interfaces, and Bi-containing Pb-free solder interfaces were chosen as the subjects of this study. In the interfacial reaction study, we observed a complicated micro structural evolution during solid-state aging of electroless-Ni(P)/SnPb solder interconnects. In as-reflowed condition, the interfacial reaction produced Ni3Sn 4 and P-rich layers. Following overaging, the interfacial microstructure degenerated into a complex multilayer structure consisting of multiple layers of Ni-Sn compounds and transformed Ni-P phases. In SnPb solder interfacial system, fatigue study showed that the overaging of the high P electroless Ni-P/SnPb interconnects resulted in a sharp reduction in the fatigue resistance of the interface in the high crack growth rate regime. Fracture mechanism analysis indicated that the sharp drop in fatigue resistance was triggered by the brittle fracture of the Ni3Sn2 intermetallic phase developed at the overaged interface. The fatigue behavior was strongly dependent on P concentration in electroless Ni. Kirkendall voids were found in the interfacial region after aging, but they did not cause premature fracture of the solder interfaces. In Bi-containing solder interfacial system, we found that Bi segregated to the Cu-intermetallic interface during aging in SnBi/Cu interconnect. This caused serious embrittlement of Sn-Bi/Cu interface. Further aging induced numerous voids along the Cu3Sn/Cu interface. These interfacial voids were different from Kirkendall voids. Their formation was explained on basis of vacancy condensation at the

A reaction-bonded silicon carbide (RB-SiC) ceramic material (Carborundum's Cerastar RB-SIC) has been joined using a reaction forming approach. Microstructure and mechanical properties of three types of reaction-formed joints (350 micron, 50-55 micron, and 20-25 micron thick) have been evaluated. Thick (approximately 350 micron) joints consist mainly of silicon with a small amount of silicon carbide. The flexural strength of thick joints is about 44 plus or minus 2 MPa, and fracture always occurs at the joints. The microscopic examination of fracture surfaces of specimens with thick joints tested at room temperature revealed the failure mode to be typically brittle. Thin joints (<50-55 micron) consist of silicon carbide and silicon phases. The room and high temperature flexural strengths of thin (<50-55 micron) reaction-formed joints have been found to be at least equal to that of the bulk Cerastar RB-SIC materials because the flexure bars fracture away from the joint regions. In this case, the fracture origins appear to be inhomogeneities inside the parent material. This was always found to be the case for thin joints tested at temperatures up to 1350C in air. This observation suggests that the strength of Cerastar RB-SIC material containing a thin joint is not limited by the joint strength but by the strength of the bulk (parent) materials.

We recently reported that an amide bond is unexpectedly formed by an acyl-CoA synthetase (which catalyzes the formation of a carbon-sulfur bond) when a suitable acid and l-cysteine are used as substrates. DltA, which is homologous to the adenylation domain of nonribosomal peptide synthetase, belongs to the same superfamily of adenylate-forming enzymes, which includes many kinds of enzymes, including the acyl-CoA synthetases. Here, we demonstrate that DltA synthesizes not only N-(d-alanyl)-l-cysteine (a dipeptide) but also various oligopeptides. We propose that this enzyme catalyzes peptide synthesis by the following unprecedented mechanism: (i) the formation of S-acyl-l-cysteine as an intermediate via its "enzymatic activity" and (ii) subsequent "chemical" S → N acyl transfer in the intermediate, resulting in peptide formation. Step ii is identical to the corresponding reaction in native chemical ligation, a method of chemical peptide synthesis, whereas step i is not. To the best of our knowledge, our discovery of this peptide synthesis mechanism involving an enzymatic reaction and a subsequent chemical reaction is the first such one to be reported. This new process yields peptides without the use of a thioesterified fragment, which is required in native chemical ligation. Together with these findings, the same mechanism-dependent formation of N-acyl compounds by other members of the above-mentioned superfamily demonstrated that all members most likely form peptide/amide compounds by using this novel mechanism. Each member enzyme acts on a specific substrate; thus, not only the corresponding peptides but also new types of amide compounds can be formed.

Creatures as varied as mammals, fish, insects, reptiles, and birds have an intriguing sixth sense that allows them to orient themselves in the Earth's magnetic field. Despite decades of study, the physical basis of this magnetic sense remains elusive. A likely mechanism is furnished by magnetically...... sensitive radical pair reactions occurring in the retina, the light-sensitive part of animal eyes. A photoreceptor, cryptochrome, has been suggested to endow birds with magnetoreceptive abilities as the protein has been shown to exhibit the biophysical properties required for an animal magnetoreceptor...

The present review is focused on the application of computational/theoretical methods to the wide and rich chemistry of allenes. Special emphasis is made on the interplay and synergy between experimental and computational methodologies, rather than on recent developments in methods and algorithms. Therefore, this review covers the state-of-the-art applications of computational chemistry to understand and rationalize the bonding situation and vast reactivity of allenes. Thus, the contents of this review span from the most fundamental studies on the equilibrium structure and chirality of allenes to recent advances in the study of complex reactionmechanisms involving allene derivatives in organic and organometallic chemistry.

This paper reports a comprehensive experimental characterization and modeling of a compact nonlinear energy harvester for low frequency applications. By exploiting the interaction between the electrical circuitry and the mechanical motion of the device, we are able to improve the power output over a large frequency range. This improvement is quantified using a new figure of merit based on a suitably defined ‘power integral (P f)’ for nonlinear vibrational energy harvesters. The developed device consists of beams with fixed-guided configuration which produce cubic monostable nonlinearity due to stretching strain. Using a high efficiency magnetic circuit a maximum output power of 488.47 μW across a resistive load of 4000 Ω under 0.5g input acceleration at 77 Hz frequency with 9.55 Hz of bandwidth is obtained. The dynamical characteristics of the device are theoretically reproduced and explained by a modified nonlinear Duffing oscillator model.

This Ph.D. dissertation describes the design and implementation of various control strategies centered around the following applications: (i) an improved indirect field oriented controller for the induction motor, (ii) partial state feedback control of an induction motor with saturation effects, (iii) tracking control of an underactuated surface vessel, and (iv) an attitude tracking controller for an underactuated spacecraft. The theory found in each of these sections is demonstrated through simulation or experimental results. An introduction to each of these four primary chapters can be found in chapter one. In the second chapter, the previously published tracking control of [16] 1 is presented in the indirect field oriented control (IFOC) notation to achieve exponential rotor velocity/rotor flux tracking. Specifically, it is illustrated how the proposed IFOC controller can be rewritten in the manner of [16] to allow for a direct Lyapunov stability proof. Experimental results (implemented with the IFOC algorithm) are provided to corroborate the efficacy of the algorithm. In the third chapter, a singularity-free, rotor position tracking controller is presented for the full order, nonlinear dynamic model of the induction motor that includes the effects of magnetic saturation. Specifically, by utilizing the pi-equivalent saturation model, an observer/controller strategy is designed that achieves semi-global exponential rotor position tracking and only requires stator current, rotor velocity, and rotor position measurements. Simulation and experimental results are included to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm. In the fourth chapter, a continuous, time-varying tracking controller is designed that globally exponentially forces the position/orientation tracking error of an under-actuated surface vessel to a neighborhood about zero that can be made arbitrarily small (i.e., global uniformly ultimately boundedness (GUUB)). The result is facilitated by

The ability to directly convert visible light radiation into useful mechanical work provides many opportunities in the field of smart materials and adaptive structures ranging from biomedical applications to control of heliostat mirrors for solar harvesting. The complexities associated with coupling time-dependent Maxwell's equations with linear momentum and mechanics is discussed by introducing a set of electronic order parameters that govern the coupling between electromagnetic radiation and mechanics of a deformable solid. Numerical examples are given illustrating how this methodology is applied to a special class of liquid crystal polymer networks containing azobenzene. The dynamics associated with light absorption and its effect on deformation of the polymer are solved in three dimensions using finite difference methods and compared to experimental results. Particular emphasis is placed on the effect of polarized light on microstructure evolution and stresses that occur during photoisomerization of the optically active microstructure.

The mechanical properties of virus capsids correlate with local conformational dynamics in the capsid structure. They also reflect the required stability needed to withstand high internal pressures generated upon genome loading and contribute to the success of important events in viral infectivity,

This paper studies the dynamical mechanisms potentially involved in the so-called atmospheric low-frequency variability, occurring at midlatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere This phenomenon is characterised by recurrent non-propagating and temporally persistent flow patterns, with typical spatial an

This paper studies the dynamical mechanisms potentially involved in the so-called atmospheric low-frequency variability, occurring at midlatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. This phenomenon is characterised by recurrent non-propagating and temporally persistent flow patterns, with typical spatial a

A new formulation of the Lindemann mechanism of unimolecular reactions in gaseous phase is presented, without the use of steady state hypothesis. It is hereby shown that the nature of applicability of steady state hypothesis in the regime of high reactant gas pressure is different from that in the regime of low gas pressure. In the former case it is an equilibrium approximation, while in the latter case it is a highly reactive intermediate approximation in no connection with a steady state. Furthermore for the latter case it is shown that in the classical formulation of Lindemann mecbRnism the use of steady state hypothesis is an ad hoc assumption. A highly reactive intermediate in the sense that its concentration is very small during the whole course of reaction is a necessary condition for the applicability of very reactive intermediate approximation. When the two distinctive nature of the applicability of steady state hypothesis is mlxed-up, wrong or useless conclusion may be arrived at. The only possible case of realizing a true steady state in a complex reaction is pointed out.

Two pyrene derivatives were successfully synthesized via an efficient copper(I)-catalyzed azide alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. The photophysical and electrochemical properties were characterized using ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, cyclic voltammograms and density functional theory modulations. These results showed that the symmetry structure of these derivatives formed an electron-delocalized organic system, which have larger effects in achieving a third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) response. The third-order nonlinear properties including the nonlinear absorption and the nonlinear susceptibilities investigated by Z-scan technique indicate that the title compounds can serve as a promising candidate for third-order NLO applications.

The annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc is comprised of concentric lamella of oriented collagen fibers embedded in a hydrated proteoglycan matrix with smaller amounts of minor collagens, elastin, and small proteoglycans. Its structure and composition enable the disc to withstand complex loads and result in inhomogeneous, anisotropic, and nonlinearmechanical behaviors. The specific contributions of the annulus fibrosus constituent structures to mechanical function remain unclear. Therefore, the objective of this study was to use a structurally motivated, anisotropic, nonlinear strain energy model of annulus fibrosus to determine the relative contributions of its structural components to tissue mechanical behavior. A nonlinear, orthotropic hyperelastic model was developed for the annulus fibrosus. Terms to describe fibers, matrix, and interactions between annulus fibrosus structures (shear and normal to the fiber directions) were explicitly included. The contributions of these structures were analyzed by including or removing terms and determining the effect on the fit to multidimensional experimental data. Correlation between experimental and model-predicted stress, a Bland-Altman analysis of bias and standard deviation of residuals, and the contribution of structural terms to overall tissue stress were calculated. Both shear and normal interaction terms were necessary to accurately model multidimensional behavior. Inclusion of shear interactions more accurately described annulus fibrosus nonlinearity. Fiber stretch and shear interactions dominated contributions to circumferential direction stress, while normal and shear interactions dominated axial stress. The results suggest that interactions between fibers and matrix, perhaps facilitated by crosslinks, elastin, or minor collagens, augment traditional (i.e., fiber-uncrimping) models of nonlinearity.

The reactionmechanisms of mercury (Hg) adsorption and oxidation on halogenated activated carbon (AC) have been completely studied for the first time using density functional theory (DFT) method. Two different halogenated AC models, namely X-AC and X-AC-X (X=Cl, Br, I), were adopted. The results revealed that HgX is found to be stable-state on the AC edge since its further desorption from the AC as HgX, or further oxidation to HgX2, are energetically unfavorable. Remarkably, the halide type does not significantly affect the Hg adsorption energy but it strongly affects the activation energy barrier of HgX formation, which obviously increases in the order HgIBr-AC>Cl-AC. Thus, the study of the complete reactionmechanism is essential because the adsorption energy can not be used as a guideline for the rational material design in the halide impregnated AC systems. The activation energy is an important descriptor for the predictions of sorbent reactivity to the Hg oxidation process.

Small aromatic radicals such as C{sub 6}H{sub 5}, C{sub 6}H{sub 5}O and C{sub 6}H{sub 4} are key prototype species of their homologs. C{sub 6}H{sub 5} and its oxidation product, C{sub 6}H{sub 5}O are believed to be important intermediates which play a pivotal role in hydrocarbon combustion, particularly with regard to soot formation. Despite their fundamental importance, experimental data on the reactionmechanisms and reactivities of these species are very limited. For C{sub 6}H{sub 5}, most kinetic data except its reactions with NO and NO{sub 2}, were obtained by relative rate measurements. For C{sub 6}H{sub 5}O, the authors have earlier measured its fragmentation reaction producing C{sub 5}H{sub 5} + CO in shock waves. For C{sub 6}H{sub 4}, the only rate constant measured in the gas phase is its recombination rate at room temperature. The authors have proposed to investigate systematically the kinetics and mechanisms of this important class of molecules using two parallel laser diagnostic techniques--laser resonance absorption (LRA) and resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization mass spectrometry (REMPI/MS). In the past two years, study has been focused on the development of a new multipass adsorption technique--the {open_quotes}cavity-ring-down{close_quotes} technique for kinetic applications. The preliminary results of this study appear to be quite good and the sensitivity of the technique is at least comparable to that of the laser-induced fluorescence method.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Multiple Displacement Amplification (MDA is a method used for amplifying limiting DNA sources. The high molecular weight amplified DNA is ideal for DNA library construction. While this has enabled genomic sequencing from one or a few cells of unculturable microorganisms, the process is complicated by the tendency of MDA to generate chimeric DNA rearrangements in the amplified DNA. Determining the source of the DNA rearrangements would be an important step towards reducing or eliminating them. Results Here, we characterize the major types of chimeras formed by carrying out an MDA whole genome amplification from a single E. coli cell and sequencing by the 454 Life Sciences method. Analysis of 475 chimeras revealed the predominant reactionmechanisms that create the DNA rearrangements. The highly branched DNA synthesized in MDA can assume many alternative secondary structures. DNA strands extended on an initial template can be displaced becoming available to prime on a second template creating the chimeras. Evidence supports a model in which branch migration can displace 3'-ends freeing them to prime on the new templates. More than 85% of the resulting DNA rearrangements were inverted sequences with intervening deletions that the model predicts. Intramolecular rearrangements were favored, with displaced 3'-ends reannealing to single stranded 5'-strands contained within the same branched DNA molecule. In over 70% of the chimeric junctions, the 3' termini had initiated priming at complimentary sequences of 2–21 nucleotides (nts in the new templates. Conclusion Formation of chimeras is an important limitation to the MDA method, particularly for whole genome sequencing. Identification of the mechanism for chimera formation provides new insight into the MDA reaction and suggests methods to reduce chimeras. The 454 sequencing approach used here will provide a rapid method to assess the utility of reaction modifications.

In this study, a compact combined biodiesel–diesel (CBD) reactionmechanism for diesel engine simulations is proposed through the combination of three component mechanisms using a chemical class-based approach. The proposed mechanism comprises the reactionmechanisms of methyl crotonate (MC...... and MB are methodologically reduced. The MC mechanism by Gail et al. with 301 species and 1516 reactions is reduced to 47 species and 210 reactions, while the MB mechanism by Brakora et al. with 41 species and 150 reactions is reduced to 33 species and 105 reactions. The mechanisms are reduced from...... a combination of methods, including peak molar concentration analysis, reaction flux analysis and the removal of individual species. In the second phase, the reduced MC and MB mechanisms are combined with the n-heptane mechanism by Pang et al. with 46 species and 112 reactions. Upon the combination...

The reaction of naphthalene with oxalyl chloride in the presence of anhydrous AlCl3 was investigated. The homolog of dinaphthyl methanone can be obtained mainly from this reaction. Naphthalene conversion does not have evident correlation with the amount of AlCl3. The results show that the reaction proceeds via carbon cation electrophilic substitution reaction-free radical substitution reaction pathway.

Analytical entire traveling wave solutions to the 1+1 density-dependent nonlinearreaction-diffusion equation via the extended generalized Riccati equation mapping method are presented in this paper. This equation can be regarded as an extension case of the Fisher-Kolmogoroff equation, which is used for studying insect and animal dispersal with growth dynamics. The analytical solutions are then used to investigate the effect of equation parameters on the population distribution.

Fabrication and synthesis of helical nanoribbons have received increasing attention because of the broad applications of helical nanostructures in nano-elecromechanical/micro-electromechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS), sensors, active materials, drug delivery, etc. In this paper, I study the mechanical principles used in designing strained helical nanoribbons, and propose the use of a full three-dimensional finite element method to simulate the coexistence of both left- and right-handed segments in the same strained nanoribbon. This work can both help understand the large deformation behaviours of such nanostructures and assist in the design of helical nanostructures for engineering applications.

Leakage and increased friction are common faults in hydraulic cylinders that can have serious consequences if they are not detected at early stage. In this paper, the design of a fault detector for a nonlinear hydraulic mechanical system is presented. By considering the system in steady state, tw...

This paper presents an alternative framework for a practically relevant class of nonlinear electro-mechanical systems. The formalism is based on a generalization of Brayton and Moser’s mixed-potential function. Instead of focusing on the usual energy-balance, the models are constructed using the pow

The non-linear inversion of rock mechanics parameters based on genetic algorithm ispresented. The principle and step of genetic algorithm is also given. A brief discussion of thismethod and an application example is presented at the end of this paper. From the satisfied re-sult, quick, convenient and practical new approach is developed to solve this kind of problems.

excitation. The results are verified using a numerical model created in MATLAB Simulink environment. Effect of non-linear terms on dynamical response of the coupled system is investigated; the backbone and envelope curves are analyzed. The two phenomena, which exist in the electro-mechanical system: (a...

The constraints imposed on observables by the requirement that transmission not occur in the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) experiment are determined, leading to a different treatment of separated systems from that originally proposed by Weinberg (1989). It is found that forbidding EPR communication in nonlinear quantum mechanics necessarily leads to another sort of unusual communication: that between different branches of the wave function.

There are four reasons why our present knowledge and understanding of quantum mechanics can be regarded as incomplete. (1) The principle of linear superposition has not been experimentally tested for position eigenstates of objects having more than about a thousand atoms. (2) There is no universally agreed upon explanation for the process of quantum measurement. (3) There is no universally agreed upon explanation for the observed fact that macroscopic objects are not found in superposition of position eigenstates. (4) Most importantly, the concept of time is classical and hence external to quantum mechanics: there should exist an equivalent reformulation of the theory which does not refer to an external classical time. In this paper we argue that such a reformulation is the limiting case of a nonlinear quantum theory, with the nonlinearity becoming important at the Planck mass scale. Such a nonlinearity can provide insights into the aforesaid problems. We use a physically motivated model for a nonlinear Schr ¨odinger equation to show that nonlinearity can help in understanding quantum measurement. We also show that while the principle of linear superposition holds to a very high accuracy for atomic systems, the lifetime of a quantum superposition becomes progressively smaller, as one goes from microscopic to macroscopic objects. This can explain the observed absence of position superpositions in macroscopic objects (lifetime is too small). It also suggests that ongoing laboratory experiments may be able to detect the ﬁnite superposition lifetime for mesoscopic objects in the near future.

The increasing demand for cleaner combustion and reduced greenhouse gas emissions motivates research on the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels and their surrogates. Accurate detailed chemical kinetic models are an important prerequisite for high fidelity reacting flow simulations capable of improving combustor design and operation. The development of such models for many new fuel components and/or surrogate molecules is greatly facilitated by the application of reaction classes and rate rules. Accurate and versatile rate rules are desirable to improve the predictive accuracy of kinetic models. A major contribution in the literature is the recent work by Bugler et al. (2015), which has significantly improved rate rules and thermochemical parameters used in kinetic modeling of alkanes. In the present study, it is demonstrated that rate rules can be used and consistently optimized for a set of normal alkanes including n-heptane, n-octane, n-nonane, n-decane, and n-undecane, thereby improving the predictive accuracy for all the considered fuels. A Bayesian framework is applied in the calibration of the rate rules. The optimized rate rules are subsequently applied to generate a mechanism for n-dodecane, which was not part of the training set for the optimized rate rules. The developed mechanism shows accurate predictions compared with published well-validated mechanisms for a wide range of conditions.

High-gain resonant nonlinear Raman scattering on trapped cold atoms within a high-fineness ring optical cavity is simply explained under a nonlinear opto-mechanicalmechanism, and a proposal using it to detect frequency of micro-trap on atom chip is presented. The enhancement of scattering spectrum is due to coherent Raman conversion between two different cavity modes mediated by collective vibrations of atoms through nonlinear opto-mechanical couplings. The physical conditions of this technique are roughly estimated on Rubidium atoms, and a simple quantum analysis as well as a multi-body semiclassical simulation on this nonlinear Raman process is conducted.

International audience; Mechanical applications often require a high control frequency to cope with fast dynamics. The control frequency of a nonlinear model predictive controller depends strongly on the symbolic complexity of the equations modeling the system. The symbolic complexity of the model equations for multi-body mechanical systems can often be dramatically reduced by using representations based on non-minimal coordinates, which result in index-3 differential-algebraic equations (DAE...

Full Text Available Molecular interactions are wired in a fascinating way resulting in complex behavior of biological systems. Theoretical modeling provides a useful framework for understanding the dynamics and the function of such networks. The complexity of the biological networks calls for conceptual tools that manage the combinatorial explosion of the set of possible interactions. A suitable conceptual tool to attack complexity is compositionality, already successfully used in the process algebra field to model computer systems. We rely on the BlenX programming language, originated by the beta-binders process calculus, to specify and simulate high-level descriptions of biological circuits. The Gillespie's stochastic framework of BlenX requires the decomposition of phenomenological functions into basic elementary reactions. Systematic unpacking of complex reactionmechanisms into BlenX templates is shown in this study. The estimation/derivation of missing parameters and the challenges emerging from compositional model building in stochastic process algebras are discussed. A biological example on circadian clock is presented as a case study of BlenX compositionality.

Heterogeneous reaction of carbonyl sulfide (OCS) on magnesium oxide (MgO) under ambient conditions was investigated by in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It reveals that OCS can be catalytically hydrolyzed by surface hydroxyl on MgO to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and then H2S can be further catalytically oxidized by surface oxygen or gaseous oxygen on MgO to form sulfite (SO3(2-)) and sulfate (SO4(2-)). Hydrogen thiocarbonate (HSCO2-) was found to be the crucial intermediate. Surface hydrogen sulfide (HS), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and surface sulfite (SO3(2-)) were also found to be intermediates for the formation of sulfate. Furthermore, the surface hydroxyl contributes not only to the formation of HSCO2- but also to HSCO2- decomposition. On the basis of experimental results, the heterogeneous reactionmechanism of OCS on MgO was discussed.

The reactions {sup 32}S+{sup 58}Ni and {sup 32}S+{sup 64}Ni are studied at 14.5 A MeV. After a selection of the collision mechanism, we show that important even-odd effects are present in the isotopic fragment distributions when the excitation energy is small. Close to the multifragmentation threshold this staggering appears hidden by the rapid variation of the production yields with the fragment size. Once this effect is accounted for, the staggering appears to be a universal feature of fragment production, slightly enhanced when the emission source is neutron poor. A closer look at the behavior of the production yields as a function of the neutron excess N-Z, reveals that odd-even effects cannot be explained by pairing effects in the nuclear masses alone, but depend in a more complex way on the de-excitation chain.

The reactions S32+Ni58 and S32+Ni64 are studied at 14.5 A MeV. After a selection of the collision mechanism, we show that important even-odd effects are present in the isotopic fragment distributions when the excitation energy is small. Close to the multifragmentation threshold this staggering appears hidden by the rapid variation of the production yields with the fragment size. Once this effect is accounted for, the staggering appears to be a universal feature of fragment production, slightly enhanced when the emission source is neutron poor. A closer look at the behavior of the production yields as a function of the neutron excess N-Z, reveals that odd-even effects cannot be explained by pairing effects in the nuclear masses alone, but depend in a more complex way on the de-excitation chain.

The reactionmechanism of cefotaxime with human serum albumin (HSA) and the affinity between cefotaxime and beta-lactamase were investigated by spectrometry and spectrofluorimetry. The interaction dissociation constants of human serum albumin and cefotaxime were determined from a double reciprocal Lineweaver-Burk plot. The binding distance and transfer efficiency between cefotaxime and HSA were also obtained according to the theory of Förster non-radiation energy transfer. The result suggested that the main binding force between cefotaxime and HSA is electrostatic force interaction. The high beta-lactamase stability of cefotaxime may be correlative with its molecular structure. The antibiotic activity and valence are connected with transfer efficiency and dissociation constant. The effect of cefotaxime on the conformation of HSA was also analyzed using synchronous fluorescence spectrometry.

The complexity of molecules found in space varies widely. On one end of the scale of molecular complexity is the hydrogen molecule H2 . Its formation from H atoms is if not understood than at least thoroughly investigated[1]. On the other side of said spectrum the precursors to biopolymers can be found, such as amino acids[2,3], sugars[4], lipids, cofactors[5], etc, and the kerogen-like organic polymer material in carbonaceous meteorites called "black stuff" [6]. These have also received broad attention in the last decades. Sitting in the middle between these two extremes are simple molecules that are observed by radio astronomy throughout the Universe. These are molecules like methane (CH4 ), methanol (CH3 OH), formaldehyde (CH2 O), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and many many others. So far more than 40 such species have been identified.[7] They are often used in laboratory experiments to create larger complex molecules on the surface of simulated interstellar dust grains.[2,8] The mechanisms of formation of these observed starting materials for prebiotic chemistry is however not always clear. Also the exact mechanisms of formation of larger molecules in photochemical experiments are largely unclear. This is mostly due to the very complex chemistry going on which involves many different radicals and ions. The creation of radicals and ions can be studied in detail in laboratory simulations. They can be created in a setup mimicking interstellar grain chemistry using slow electrons. There is no free electron radiation in space. What can be found though is a lot of radiation of different sorts. There is electromagnetic radiation (UV light, X-Rays, rays, etc.) and there is particulate radiation as well in the form of high energy ions. This radiation can provide energy that drives chemical reactions in the ice mantles of interstellar dust grains. And while the multitude of different kinds of radiation might be a little confusing, they all have one thing in common: Upon

A generalization of the theory of chemical transformation processes under turbulent mixing of reactants and arbitrary values of the rate of molecular reactions is presented that was previously developed for the variant of an instantaneous reaction [13]. The use of the features of instantaneous reactions when considering the general case, namely, the introduction of the concept of effective reaction for the reactant volumes and writing a closing conservation equation for these volumes, became possible due to the partition of the whole amount of reactants into "active" and "passive" classes; the reactants of the first class are not mixed and react by the mechanism of instantaneous reactions, while the reactants of the second class approach each other only through molecular diffusion, and therefore their contribution to the reaction process can be neglected. The physical mechanism of reaction for the limit regime of an ideal mixing reactor (IMR) is revealed and described. Although formally the reaction rate in this regime depends on the concentration of passive fractions of the reactants, according to the theory presented, the true (hidden) mechanism of the reaction is associated only with the reaction of the active fractions of the reactants with vanishingly small concentration in the volume of the reactor. It is shown that the rate constant of fast chemical reactions can be evaluated when the mixing intensity of reactants is much less than that needed to reach the mixing conditions in an IMR.

Full Text Available We develop optimal respiratory airflow patterns using a nonlinear multicompartment model for a lung mechanics system. Specifically, we use classical calculus of variations minimization techniques to derive an optimal airflow pattern for inspiratory and expiratory breathing cycles. The physiological interpretation of the optimality criteria used involves the minimization of work of breathing and lung volume acceleration for the inspiratory phase, and the minimization of the elastic potential energy and rapid airflow rate changes for the expiratory phase. Finally, we numerically integrate the resulting nonlinear two-point boundary value problems to determine the optimal airflow patterns over the inspiratory and expiratory breathing cycles.

We develop optimal respiratory airflow patterns using a nonlinear multicompartment model for a lung mechanics system. Specifically, we use classical calculus of variations minimization techniques to derive an optimal airflow pattern for inspiratory and expiratory breathing cycles. The physiological interpretation of the optimality criteria used involves the minimization of work of breathing and lung volume acceleration for the inspiratory phase, and the minimization of the elastic potential energy and rapid airflow rate changes for the expiratory phase. Finally, we numerically integrate the resulting nonlinear two-point boundary value problems to determine the optimal airflow patterns over the inspiratory and expiratory breathing cycles.

This paper studies the dynamical mechanisms potentially involved in the so-called atmospheric low-frequency variability, occurring at midlatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. This phenomenon is characterised by recurrent non-propagating and temporally persistent flow patterns, with typical spatial and temporal scales of 6000-10 000 km and 10-50 days, respectively. We study a low-order model derived from the 2-layer shallow-water equations on a β-plane channel. The main ingredients of the low-order model are a zonal flow, a planetary scale wave, orography, and a baroclinic-like forcing. A systematic analysis of the dynamics of the low-order model is performed using techniques and concepts from dynamical systems theory. Orography height ( h0) and magnitude of zonal wind forcing ( U0) are used as control parameters to study the bifurcations of equilibria and periodic orbits. Along two curves of Hopf bifurcations an equilibrium loses stability ( U0≥12.5 m/s) and gives birth to two distinct families of periodic orbits. These periodic orbits bifurcate into strange attractors along three routes to chaos: period doubling cascades, breakdown of 2-tori by homo- and heteroclinic bifurcations, or intermittency ( U0≥14.5 m/s and h0≥800 m). The observed attractors exhibit spatial and temporal low-frequency patterns comparing well with those observed in the atmosphere. For h0≤800 m the periodic orbits have a period of about 10 days and patterns in the vorticity field propagate eastward. For h0≥800 m, the period is longer (30-60 days) and patterns in the vorticity field are non-propagating. The dynamics on the strange attractors are associated with low-frequency variability: the vorticity fields show weakening and strengthening of non-propagating planetary waves on time scales of 10-200 days. The spatio-temporal characteristics are “inherited” (by intermittency) from the two families of periodic orbits and are detected in a relatively large region of the parameter

In this paper, a novel Runge-Kutta (RK) discretization-based model-predictive auto-tuning proportional-integral-derivative controller (RK-PID) is introduced for the control of continuous-time nonlinear systems. The parameters of the PID controller are tuned using RK model of the system through prediction error-square minimization where the predicted information of tracking error provides an enhanced tuning of the parameters. Based on the model-predictive control (MPC) approach, the proposed mechanism provides necessary PID parameter adaptations while generating additive correction terms to assist the initially inadequate PID controller. Efficiency of the proposed mechanism has been tested on two experimental real-time systems: an unstable single-input single-output (SISO) nonlinear magnetic-levitation system and a nonlinear multi-input multi-output (MIMO) liquid-level system. RK-PID has been compared to standard PID, standard nonlinear MPC (NMPC), RK-MPC and conventional sliding-mode control (SMC) methods in terms of control performance, robustness, computational complexity and design issue. The proposed mechanism exhibits acceptable tuning and control performance with very small steady-state tracking errors, and provides very short settling time for parameter convergence.

During the last decade, scientists working in quantum theory have been engaging in promising new fields such as quantum computation and quantum information processing, and have also been reflecting on the possibilities of nonlinear behavior on the quantum level. These are challenging undertakings because (1) they will result in new solutions to important technical and practical problems that were unsolvable by the classical approaches (for example, quantum computers can calculate problems that are intractable if one uses classical computers); and (2) they open up new 'hard' problems of a fundamental nature that touch the foundation of quantum theory itself (for example, the contradiction between locality and nonlinearity and the interpretation of quantum computing as a universal process). In this book, one can distinguish two main streams of research to approach the just-mentioned problem field: (1) a theoretical structural part, which concentrates on the elaboration of a nonlinear quantum mechanics and the ...

In this study model identification of the nonlinear dynamics of a micro-speaker is carried out by purely electrical measurements, avoiding any explicit vibration measurements. It is shown that a dynamic model of the micro-speaker, which takes into account the nonlinear damping characteristic of the device, can be identified by measuring the response between the voltage input and the current flowing into the coil. An analytical formulation of the quasi-linear model of the micro-speaker is first derived and an optimisation method is then used to identify a polynomial function which describes the mechanical damping behaviour of the micro-speaker. The analytical results of the quasi-linear model are compared with numerical results. This study potentially opens up the possibility of efficiently implementing nonlinear echo cancellers.

The standard quantum mechanical expressions for the singlet and triplet survival probabilities and product yields of a radical pair recombination reaction involve a trace over the states in a combined electronic and nuclear spin Hilbert space. If this trace is evaluated deterministically, by performing a separate time-dependent wavepacket calculation for each initial state in the Hilbert space, the computational effort scales as O (Z2log ⁡Z ) , where Z is the total number of nuclear spin states. Here we show that the trace can also be evaluated stochastically, by exploiting the properties of spin coherent states. This results in a computational effort of O (M Z log ⁡Z ) , where M is the number of Monte Carlo samples needed for convergence. Example calculations on a strongly coupled radical pair with Z >106 show that the singlet yield can be converged to graphical accuracy using just M =200 samples, resulting in a speed up by a factor of >5000 over a standard deterministic calculation. We expect that this factor will greatly facilitate future quantum mechanical simulations of a wide variety of radical pairs of interest in chemistry and biology.

This report outlines the application of finite element methodology to large deformation solid mechanics problems, detailing also some of the key technological issues that effective finite element formulations must address. The presentation is organized into three major portions: first, a discussion of finite element discretization from the global point of view, emphasizing the relationship between a virtual work principle and the associated fully discrete system, second, a discussion of finite element technology, emphasizing the important theoretical and practical features associated with an individual finite element; and third, detailed description of specific elements that enjoy widespread use, providing some examples of the theoretical ideas already described. Descriptions of problem formulation in nonlinear solid mechanics, nonlinear continuum mechanics, and constitutive modeling are given in three companion reports.

Full Text Available This paper considers the mechanisms with different structure: tribometric device and a mechanism for handling of optical glasses. In the first device, the movement of the upper platform is due to a reciprocating friction interaction. In the second device, the processing of the optical element or group of elements occurs due to the rotational motion. Modelling of the dynamic of these systems with Matlab/Simmechanic allowed carrying out the analysis of dynamic of mechanisms, considering nonlinearity tribological interactions for these systems. The article shows that using of the computer models can effectively carry out the selection of the control parameters to create the desired mode of operation, as well as to investigate the behaviour of systems with nonlinear parameters and processes of self-oscillations. The organization of the managed self-oscillation process is realized to create the relevant high-performance manufacturing, for example, for the processing of optical glasses.

This book comprehensively treats the formulation and finite element approximation of contact and impact problems in nonlinearmechanics. Intended for students, researchers and practitioners interested in numerical solid and structural analysis, as well as for engineers and scientists dealing with technologies in which tribological response must be characterized, the book includes an introductory but detailed overview of nonlinear finite element formulations before dealing with contact and impact specifically. Topics encompassed include the continuum mechanics, mathematical structure, variational framework, and finite element implementations associated with contact/impact interaction. Additionally, important and currently emerging research topics in computational contact mechanics are introduced, encompassing such topics as tribological complexity, conservative treatment of inelastic impact interaction, and novel spatial discretization strategies.

In this paper, the stabilization strategies of a general nonlinear car-following model with reaction-time delay of the drivers are investigated. The reaction-time delay of the driver is time varying and bounded. By using the Lyapunov stability theory, the sufficient condition for the existence of the state feedback control strategy for the stability of the car-following model is given in the form of linear matrix inequality, under which the traffic jam can be well suppressed with respect to the varying reaction-time delay. Moreover, by considering the external disturbance for the running cars, the robust state feedback control strategy is designed, which ensures robust stability and a smaller prescribed H∞ disturbance attenuation level for the traffic flow. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

The problem of the process of coupled diffusion and reaction in catalyst pellets is considered for the case of second and half order reactions. The Adomian decomposition method is used to solve the non-linear model. For the second, half and first order reactions, analytical approximate solutions are obtained. The variation of reactant concentration in the catalyst pellet and the effectiveness factors at φ＜10 are determined and compared with those by the BAND's finite difference numerical method developed by Newman. At lower values of φ, the decomposition solution with 3 terms gives satisfactory agreement with the numerical solution; at higher values of φ, as the term number in the decomposition method is increased, an acceptable agreement between the two methods is achieved. In general, the solution with 6 terms gives a satisfactory agreement.

In this paper,we present the elementary principles of nonlinear quantum mechanics(NLQM),which is based on some problems in quantum mechanics.We investigate in detail the motion laws and some main properties of microscopic particles in nonlinear quantum systems using these elementary principles.Concretely speaking,we study in this paper the wave-particle duality of the solution of the nonlinear Schr6dinger equation,the stability of microscopic particles described by NLQM,invariances and conservation laws of motion of particles,the Hamiltonian principle of particle motion and corresponding Lagrangian and Hamilton equations,the classical rule of microscopic particle motion,the mechanism and rules of particle collision,the features of reflection and the transmission of particles at interfaces,and the uncertainty relation of particle motion as well as the eigenvalue and eigenequations of particles,and so on.We obtained the invariance and conservation laws of mass,energy and momentum and angular momenturn for the microscopic particles,which are also some elementary and universal laws of matter in the NLQM and give further the methods and ways of solving the above questions.We also find that the laws of motion of microscopic particles in such a case are completely different from that in the linear quantum mechanics(LQM).They have a lot of new properties;for example,the particles possess the real wave-corpuscle duality,obey the classical rule of motion and conservation laws of energy,momentum and mass,satisfy minimum uncertainty relation,can be localized due to the nonlinear interaction,and its position and momentum can also be determined,etc.From these studies,we see clearly that rules and features of microscopic particle motion in NLQM is different from that in LQM.Therefore,the NLQM is a new physical theory,and a necessary result of the development of quantum mechanics and has a correct representation of describing microscopic particles in nonlinear systems,which can

Full Text Available The meshless local Pretrov-Galerkin method (MLPG with the test function in view of the Heaviside step function is introduced to solve the system of coupled nonlinearreaction-diffusion equations in two-dimensional spaces subjected to Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions on a square domain. Two-field velocities are approximated by moving Kriging (MK interpolation method for constructing nodal shape function which holds the Kronecker delta property, thereby enhancing the arrangement nodal shape construction accuracy, while the Crank-Nicolson method is chosen for temporal discretization. The nonlinear terms are treated iteratively within each time step. The developed formulation is verified in two numerical examples with investigating the convergence and the accuracy of numerical results. The numerical experiments revealing the solutions by the developed formulation are stable and more precise.

The first half-reaction of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is investigated by means of quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) calculations. An energetically feasible arginine hydroxylation path was found only when the iron-oxy complex accepted one proton from an external source. The so formed species has not been considered in heme chemistry; it is described as Por(+*)Fe(III)-OOH and is characterized by the same molecular constituency as the more known ferric-hydroperoxide species, compound 0, but has a cation-radical porphyrin moiety. The reaction itself is found to involve proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) and oxygen coupled electron transfer (OCET) steps en route to the formation of compound I and the ultimate monooxygenation of arginine. The cofactor H(4)B turns out to be a key player in the mechanism acting alternatively as an electron donor (when neutral) and an electron sink (when in its radical-cation state) and, thereby, providing the electron transfer component in the various coupled proton and oxygen transfer steps (see Scheme 4 ). The various pieces of this mechanism account for many of the experimental observations, such as the following: (a) the origins of the second proton supplied to the heme, (b) the elusiveness of compound I, (c) the inactivity of peroxide-shunt pathways in NOS first half-reaction, (d) the inhibition of the H(4)B analogue 4-amino-H(4)B due to protonation at the N3 position, (e) the roles of Trp188 (iNOS numbering) and the crystal water at the active site (W115), and so on. Alternative mechanistic hypotheses are tested and excluded, and a new mechanism for the NOS second half-reaction is proposed.

A matrix EPR spectroscopy study of the low temperature γ radiolysis of precipitated (Zeosil) and mesoporous high surface silica has afforded evidence of the formation of trapped H-atoms, H-atom centers, siloxy radicals ≡Si-O(•), anomalous silyl peroxy radicals ≡Si-OO(•) with reduced g tensor anisotropy, siloxy radical-cations (≡Si-O-Si≡)(+•), E' centers, and two species from Ge impurity. Coordination of peroxyl radicals with diamagnetic ≡Si(+) centers is proposed and tested by DFT computations in order to justify the observed g tensor. Coordination of H-atoms to ≡Si(+) centers is also proposed for the structure of the H-atom centers as an alternative model not requiring the intervention of Ge, Sn, or CO impurities. The DFT method has been employed to assess the electronic structure of siloxy radical-cations and its similarity with that of the carbon radical-cation analogues; the results have prompted a revision of the structures proposed in the literature for ST1 and ST2 centers. The comparison between the two types of silica has afforded evidence of different radiolysis mechanisms leading to a greater yield of trapped H-atoms and H-atom centers in zeosil silica, which is reckoned with the 4-fold greater concentration of silanol groups. Parallel radiolysis experiments carried out by using both types of silica with polybutadiene oligomers as adsorbate have afforded evidence of free valence and energy migration phenomena leading to irreversible linking of polybutadiene chains onto silica. Reactionmechanisms are proposed based on the detection of SiO2-bonded free radicals whose structure has been defined by EPR.

We present nonadiabatic quantum dynamical calculations on the two coupled potential energy surfaces (12A' and 22A') [J.Theor.Comput.Chem.8,849 (2009)] for the reaction.Initial state-resolved reaction probabilities and cross sections for the N+ND→N2+D reaction and N'+ND→N+N'D reaction for collision energies of 5 meV to 1.0 eV are determined,respectively.It is found that the N+ND→N2+D reaction is dominated in the N+ND reaction.In addition,we obtained the rate constants for the N+ND→N2+D reaction which demand further experimental investigations.

The theory of damping is discussed in Newton's Principia and has been tested in objects as diverse as the Foucault pendulum, the mirrors in gravitational-wave detectors and submicrometre mechanical resonators. In general, the damping observed in these systems can be described by a linear damping force. Advances in nanofabrication mean that it is now possible to explore damping in systems with one or more atomic-scale dimensions. Here we study the damping of mechanical resonators based on carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets. The damping is found to strongly depend on the amplitude of motion, and can be described by a nonlinear rather than a linear damping force. We exploit the nonlinear nature of damping in these systems to improve the figures of merit for both nanotube and graphene resonators. For instance, we achieve a quality factor of 100,000 for a graphene resonator.

The mechanism of palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction has been studied theoretically by DFT (density functional theory) calculations. The model system studied consists of Pd(PH3)2 as the starting catalyst complex, phenyl bromide as the substrate and acetylene as the terminal alkyne, without regarding to the co-catalyst and base. Mechanistically and energetically plausible catalytic cycles for the cross-coupling have been identified. The DFT analysis shows that the catalytic cycle occurs in three stages: oxidative addition of phenyl bromide to the palladium center, alkynylation of palladium(II) intermediate, and reductive elimination to phenylacetylene. In the oxidative addition, the neutral and anionic pathways have been investigated, which could both give rise to cis-configured palladium(II) diphosphine intermediate. Starting from the palladium(II) diphosphine intermediate, the only identifiable pathway in alkynylation involves the dissociation of Br group and the formation of square-planar palladium(II) intermediate, in which the phenyl and alkynyl groups are oriented cis to each other. Due to the close proximity of phenyl and alkynyl groups, the reductive elimination of phenylacetylene proceeds smoothly.

Full Text Available We construct new exact traveling wave solutions involving free parameters of the nonlinearreaction diffusion equation by using the improved (G′/G-expansion method. The second-order linear ordinary differential equation with constant coefficients is used in this method. The obtained solutions are presented by the hyperbolic and the trigonometric functions. The solutions become in special functional form when the parameters take particular values. It is important to reveal that our solutions are in good agreement with the existing results.

This paper deals with the blow-up properties of the solution to a semilinear parabolic system with localized nonlinearreaction terms, subject to the null Dirichlet boundary condition. We first give sufficient conditions for that the classical solution blows up in the finite time, secondly give necessary conditions and a sufficient condition for that two components blow up simultaneously, and then obtain the uniform blow-up profiles in the interior. Finally we describe the asymptotic behavior of the blow-up solution in the boundary layer.

Full Text Available A mathematical model of the dynamics of the self-ignition of a reaction-diffusion system is studied in this paper. An approximate analytical method (modified Adomian decomposition method is used to solve nonlinear differential equations under steady-state condition. Analytical expressions for concentrations of the gas reactant and the temperature have been derived for Lewis number (Le and parameters β, γ, and ϕ2. Furthermore, in this work, the numerical simulation of the problem is also reported using MATLAB program. An agreement between analytical and numerical results is noted.

Full Text Available Phenylpropenes, a large group of plant volatile compounds that serve in multiple roles in defense and pollinator attraction, contain a propenyl side chain. Eugenol synthase (EGS catalyzes the reductive displacement of acetate from the propenyl side chain of the substrate coniferyl acetate to produce the allyl-phenylpropene eugenol. We report here the structure determination of EGS from basil (Ocimum basilicum by protein x-ray crystallography. EGS is structurally related to the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductases (SDRs, and in particular, enzymes in the isoflavone-reductase-like subfamily. The structure of a ternary complex of EGS bound to the cofactor NADP(H and a mixed competitive inhibitor EMDF ((7S,8S-ethyl (7,8-methylene-dihydroferulate provides a detailed view of the binding interactions within the EGS active site and a starting point for mutagenic examination of the unusual reductive mechanism of EGS. The key interactions between EMDF and the EGS-holoenzyme include stacking of the phenyl ring of EMDF against the cofactor's nicotinamide ring and a water-mediated hydrogen-bonding interaction between the EMDF 4-hydroxy group and the side-chain amino moiety of a conserved lysine residue, Lys132. The C4 carbon of nicotinamide resides immediately adjacent to the site of hydride addition, the C7 carbon of cinnamyl acetate substrates. The inhibitor-bound EGS structure suggests a two-step reactionmechanism involving the formation of a quinone-methide prior to reduction. The formation of this intermediate is promoted by a hydrogen-bonding network that favors deprotonation of the substrate's 4-hydroxyl group and disfavors binding of the acetate moiety, akin to a push-pull catalytic mechanism. Notably, the catalytic involvement in EGS of the conserved Lys132 in preparing the phenolic substrate for quinone methide formation through the proton-relay network appears to be an adaptation of the analogous role in hydrogen bonding played by the equivalent

We investigate the coupling between mechanical and optical modes supported by coupled, freestanding, photonic crystal nanobeam cavities. We show that localized cavity modes for a given gap between the nanobeams provide weak optomechanical coupling with out-of-plane mechanical modes. However, we show that the coupling can be significantly increased, more than an order of magnitude for the symmetric mechanical mode, due to optical resonances that arise from the interaction of the localized cavity modes with standing waves formed by the reflection from thesubstrate. Finally, amplification of motion for the symmetric mode has been observed and attributed to the strong optomechanical interaction of our hybrid system. The amplitude of these self-sustained oscillations is large enough to put the system into a non-linear oscillation regime where a mixing between the mechanical modes is experimentally observed and theoretically explained.

The gas-phase reaction of an Np atom with H2O was investigated using density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics. The reactionmechanisms and the corresponding potential energy profiles for different possible spin states were analyzed. Three reaction channels were found in the mechanism study: the isomerization channel, the H2 elimination channel, and the H atom elimination channel. The latter two were observed in the dynamics simulation. It was found that the branching ratio of the title reaction depends on the initial kinetic energy along the transition vector. Product energy distributions for the reaction were evaluated by performing direct classical trajectory calculations on the lowest sextet potential energy surface. The results indicate that most of the available energy appears as the translational energy of the products. The overall results indicate that the H2 elimination channel with low kinetic energy is thermodynamically favored but competes with the H atom elimination channel with higher kinetic energy.

Rhinitis is a common symptom in food allergic patients, but rhinitis is rarely the only symptom. Rhinitis due to adverse reactions to preservatives and colorants is very rare. In anaphylactic systemic reactions to foods the rhinitis symptoms are caused by inflammatory mediators transported...... by the circulation. In non-anaphylactic reactions, the nasal inflammation and symptoms are probably induced by interaction with food allergens transported to the nasal mucosa via the blood circulation....

Throughout biology, cells and organisms use flagella and cilia to propel fluid and achieve motility. The beating of these organelles, and the corresponding ability to sense, respond to and modulate this beat is central to many processes in health and disease. While the mechanics of flagellum-fluid interaction has been the subject of extensive mathematical studies, these models have been restricted to being geometrically linear or weakly nonlinear, despite the high curvatures observed physiologically. We study the effect of geometrical nonlinearity, focusing on the spermatozoon flagellum. For a wide range of physiologically relevant parameters, the nonlinear model predicts that flagellar compression by the internal forces initiates an effective buckling behaviour, leading to a symmetry-breaking bifurcation that causes profound and complicated changes in the waveform and swimming trajectory, as well as the breakdown of the linear theory. The emergent waveform also induces curved swimming in an otherwise symmetric system, with the swimming trajectory being sensitive to head shape-no signalling or asymmetric forces are required. We conclude that nonlinear models are essential in understanding the flagellar waveform in migratory human sperm; these models will also be invaluable in understanding motile flagella and cilia in other systems.

In this paper, we consider a simple reaction-diffusion system, namely, a binary fluid mixture with an association-dissociation reaction between two species. We study fluctuations at hydrodynamic spatiotemporal scales when this mixture is driven out of equilibrium by the presence of a temperature gra

Generally, loss phenomena are known to affect the quantum properties of a light wave. This paper describes a quantum mechanical treatment of parametric amplification in an absorptive nonlinear medium. An expression of the quantum mechanical field operator in such a physical system is presented based on the Heisenberg equation, using which the quantum properties of traveling light suffering from medium absorption are quantitatively evaluated. Calculations using the obtained operator indicate that some degradation of noise performance is caused by the absorption. The influence of the absorption on the squeezing performance in phase-sensitive parametric amplification is also evaluated.

Presents the mechanistic ideas underlying reactions between nucleophiles and carbonyl compounds as well as some popular misconceptions. Relates reactions of carboxylic acid derivatives to those of aldehydes and ketones. Discusses leaving group ability and the ability of carbonyl oxygen to accept a negative charge. (Author/MVL)

A model for reaction synthesis of Li-B alloys has been presented. Results show that the first exothermal reaction can be divided into three stages. The first stage is an instantaneous reaction on the boundary between boron particles and lithium melting, in which the caloric released is inversely proportional to the particle size of the boron powder. The second stage is a reaction between the unreacted boron and the lithium that diffuses through the product LiB3 on the surface of the boron particle. This process can be described by Johnston model. The third stage is dissolution of the product LiB3 to Li liquid, which takes place at temperature up to 420℃. At the same time, the second exothermal reaction begins, which consists of nucleation and growth of the last Li-B compound. It can be divided into two substages, i.e. the nucleation pregnant stage and the exploded reaction stage. When the concentration of the particle nucleated is high enough, an exploding reaction takes place. The lower the temperature, the longer the time needed for the exploding reaction. By the model presented, the experimental phenomena in the synthesis are explained.

Computational study of the sodium-water reaction at the gas (water) - liquid (sodium) interface has been carried out using the ab initio (first-principle) method. A possible reaction channel has been identified for the stepwise OH bond dissociations of a single water molecule. The energetics including the binding energy of a water molecule on the sodium surface, the activation energies of the bond cleavages, and the reaction energies, have been evaluated, and the rate constants of the first and second OH bond-breakings have been compared. It was found that the estimated rate constant of the former was much larger than the latter. The results are the basis for constructing the chemical reaction model used in a multi-dimensional sodium-water reaction code, SERAPHIM, being developed by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) toward the safety assessment of the steam generator (SG) in a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR).

A theoretical study on the reaction of aluminum with water in the gas phase was performed using the hybrid density functional B3LYP and QCISD(T) methods with the 6-311+G(d,p) and the 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets. The results show that there are three possible reaction pathways that involve four isomers, seven transition structures, and two possible products for the reaction of aluminum with water. The two most favorable reaction pathways were found, whose intermediates and products agreed quite well with experimental results. The enthalpy and Gibbs free energy change of the reaction between AI and H2O at 298 and 2000 K were calculated. Some results are also in good agreement with the previous calculations or experimental results.

Theoretical physics seems to be in a kind of schizophrenic state. Many phenomena in the observable macroscopic world obey nonlinear evolution equations, whereas the microscopic world is governed by quantum mechanics, a fundamental theory that is supposedly linear. In order to combine these two worlds in a common formalism, at least one of them must sacrifice one of its dogmas. I claim that linearity in quantum mechanics is not as essential as it apparently seems since quantum mechanics can be reformulated in terms of nonlinear Riccati equations. In a first step, it will be shown where complex Riccati equations appear in time-dependent quantum mechanics and how they can be treated and compared with similar space-dependent Riccati equations in supersymmetric quantum mechanics. Furthermore, the time-independent Schrödinger equation can also be rewritten as a complex Riccati equation. Finally, it will be shown that (real and complex) Riccati equations also appear in many other fields of physics, like statistical thermodynamics and cosmology.

Full Text Available N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2 catalyzes the acetylation of isoniazid to N-acetylisoniazid. NAT2 polymorphism explains 88% of isoniazid clearance variability in adults. We examined the effects of clinical and genetic factors on Michaelis-Menten reaction kinetic constants of maximum velocity (Vmax and affinity (Km in children 0–10 years old. We measured the rates of isoniazid elimination and N-acetylisoniazid production in the blood of 30 children. Since maturation effects could be non-linear, we utilized a pharmacometric approach and the artificial intelligence method, multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS, to identify factors predicting NAT2 Vmax and Km by examining clinical, genetic, and laboratory factors in toto. Isoniazid concentration predicted both Vmax and Km and superseded the contribution of NAT2 genotype. Age non-linearly modified the NAT2 genotype contribution until maturation at ≥5.3 years. Thus, enzyme efficiency was constrained by substrate concentration, genes, and age. Since MARS output is in the form of basis functions and equations, it allows multiscale systems modeling from the level of cellular chemical reactions to whole body physiological parameters, by automatic selection of significant predictors by the algorithm.

This paper presents the formulation of a novel block-backstepping based control algorithm to address the stabilization problem for a generalized nonlinear underactuated mechanical system. For the convenience of compact design, first, the state model of the underactuated system has been converted into the block-strict feedback form. Next, we have incorporated backstepping control action to derive the expression of the control input for the generic nonlinear underactuated system. The proposed block backstepping technique has further been enriched by incorporating an integral action additionally for enhancing the steady state performance of the overall system. Asymptotic stability of the overall system has been analyzed using Lyapunov stability criteria. Subsequently, the stability of the zero dynamics has also been analyzed to ensure the global asymptotic stability of the entire nonlinear system at its desired equilibrium point. The proposed control algorithm has been applied for the stabilization of a benchmarked underactuated mechanical system to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control law in real-time environment.

Full Text Available Spiral wave initiation in the heart muscle is a mechanism for the onset of dangerous cardiac arrhythmias. A standard protocol for spiral wave initiation is the application of a stimulus in the refractory tail of a propagating excitation wave, a region that we call the "classical vulnerable zone." Previous studies of vulnerability to spiral wave initiation did not take the influence of deformation into account, which has been shown to have a substantial effect on the excitation process of cardiomyocytes via the mechano-electrical feedback phenomenon. In this work we study the effect of deformation on the vulnerability of excitable media in a discrete reaction-diffusion-mechanics (dRDM model. The dRDM model combines FitzHugh-Nagumo type equations for cardiac excitation with a discrete mechanical description of a finite-elastic isotropic material (Seth material to model cardiac excitation-contraction coupling and stretch activated depolarizing current. We show that deformation alters the "classical," and forms a new vulnerable zone at longer coupling intervals. This mechanically caused vulnerable zone results in a new mechanism of spiral wave initiation, where unidirectional conduction block and rotation directions of the consequently initiated spiral waves are opposite compared to the mechanism of spiral wave initiation due to the "classical vulnerable zone." We show that this new mechanism of spiral wave initiation can naturally occur in situations that involve wave fronts with curvature, and discuss its relation to supernormal excitability of cardiac tissue. The concept of mechanically induced vulnerability may lead to a better understanding about the onset of dangerous heart arrhythmias via mechano-electrical feedback.

Full Text Available The nonlinearmechanism of shaping of a high vertical wave number spectral tail in the field of a few discrete internal gravity waves in the atmosphere is studied in this paper. The effects of advection of fluid parcels by interacting gravity waves are taken strictly into account by calculating wave field in Lagrangian variables, and performing a variable transformation from Lagrangian to Eulerian frame. The vertical profiles and vertical wave number spectra of the Eulerian displacement field are obtained for both the case of resonant and non-resonant wave-wave interactions. The evolution of these spectra with growing parameter of nonlinearity of the internal wave field is studied and compared to that of a broad band spectrum of gravity waves with randomly independent amplitudes and phases. The calculated vertical wave number spectra of the vertical displacements or relative temperature fluctuations are found to be consistent with the observed spectra in the middle atmosphere.

converge to zero despite the uncertainties in the system according to the Barbalat lemma. The resulting controllers are able to take into account the interval uncertainties in Coulomb friction parameters and in the internal leakage parameters in the cylinders. Two adaptation laws are obtained by using......The complex dynamics that characterize hydraulic systems make it difficult for the control design to achieve prescribed goals in an efficient manner. In this paper, we present the design and analysis of a robust nonlinear controller for a nonlinear hydraulic-mechanical (NHM) system. The system...... consists of an electrohydraulic servo valve and two hydraulic cylinders. Specifically, by considering a part of the dynamics of the NHM system as a norm-bounded uncertainty, two adaptive controllers are developed based on the backstepping technique that ensure the tracking error signals asymptotically...

Studies of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) have revealed that this type of involuntary eye movement is influenced by viewing distance. This paper presents a bilateral model for the horizontal angular VOR in the dark based on realistic physiological mechanisms. It is shown that by assigning proper nonlinear neural computations at the premotor level, the model is capable of replicating target-distance-dependent VOR responses that are in agreement with geometrical requirements. Central premotor responses in the model are also shown to be consistent with experimental observations. Moreover, the model performance after simulated unilateral canal plugging also reproduces experimental observations, an emerging property. Such local nonlinear computations could similarly generate context-dependent behaviors in other more complex motor systems.

This book presents a novel, generalized approach to the design of nonlinear state feedback control laws for a large class of underactuated mechanical systems based on application of the block backstepping method. The control law proposed here is robust against the effects of model uncertainty in dynamic and steady-state performance and addresses the issue of asymptotic stabilization for the class of underactuated mechanical systems. An underactuated system is defined as one for which the dimension of space spanned by the configuration vector is greater than that of the space spanned by the control variables. Control problems concerning underactuated systems currently represent an active field of research due to their broad range of applications in robotics, aerospace, and marine contexts. The book derives a generalized theory of block backstepping control design for underactuated mechanical systems, and examines several case studies that cover interesting examples of underactuated mechanical systems. The math...

This paper investigates the potential for stabilizing an inverted pendulum without electric devices, using gravitational potential energy. We propose a wheeled mechanism on a slope, specifically, a wheeled double pendulum, whose second pendulum transforms gravity force into braking force that acts on the wheel. In this paper, we derive steady-state equations of this system and conduct nonlinear analysis to obtain parameter conditions under which the standing position of the first pendulum becomes asymptotically stable. In this asymptotically stable condition, the proposed mechanism descends the slope in a stable standing position, while dissipating gravitational potential energy via the brake mechanism. By numerically continuing the stability limits in the parameter space, we find that the stable parameter region is simply connected. This implies that the proposed mechanism can be robust against errors in parameter setting.

Motivated by recent improvements in coupling strength between light and mechanical motion, we study the strong coupling regime of cavity optomechanics theoretically. We focus on the regime where the optomechanical coupling rate is still small compared to the mechanical resonance frequency, but where the mechanically induced Kerr nonlinearity is significant. The response of the system to an optical drive is characterized. The average photon number in the cavity as a function of drive detuning can feature several peaks due to multi-photon transitions. Furthermore, we show that by optically driving the system at multiple frequencies, multi-photon transitions can facilitate the engineering of nonclassical steady states of the mechanical oscillator. The author acknowledges financial support from The Danish Council for Independent Research under the Sapere Aude program.

In this paper the singularly perturbed initial boundary value problems for the nonlocal reaction diffusion system are considered. Using the iteration method and the comparison theorem, the existence and its asymptotic behavior of the solution for the problem are studied.

Kinetic Monte Carlo is a method used to model the state-to-state kinetics of atomic systems when all reactionmechanisms and rates are known a priori. Adaptive versions of this algorithm use saddle searches from each visited state so that unexpected and complex reactionmechanisms can also be included. Here, we describe how calculated reactionmechanisms can be stored concisely in a kinetic database and subsequently reused to reduce the computational cost of such simulations. As all accessible reactionmechanisms available in a system are contained in the database, the cost of the adaptive algorithm is reduced towards that of standard kinetic Monte Carlo.

The methylation of Hg(II) (SCH3 )2 by corrinoid-based methyl donors proceeds in a concerted manner through a single transition state by transfer of a methyl radical, in contrast to previously proposed reactionmechanisms. This reactionmechanism is a consequence of relativistic effects that lower the energies of the mercury 6p1/2 and 6p3/2 orbitals, making them energetically accessible for chemical bonding. In the absence of spin-orbit coupling, the predicted reactionmechanism is qualitatively different. This is the first example of relativity being decisive for the nature of an observed enzymatic reactionmechanism.

Food allergy is an extremely rare cause of chronic sinusitis. Mucosal inflammation in chronic sinusitis is rarely caused by allergic reactions to foods but rather viral infections in the upper respiratory tract.......Food allergy is an extremely rare cause of chronic sinusitis. Mucosal inflammation in chronic sinusitis is rarely caused by allergic reactions to foods but rather viral infections in the upper respiratory tract....

Two fundamental, and unsolved problems in physics are: i) the resolution of the "measurement problem" in quantum mechanics ii) the quantization of strongly nonlinear (nonabelian) gauge theories. The aim of this paper is to suggest that these two problems might be linked, and that a mutual, simultaneous solution to both might exist. We propose that the mechanism responsible for the "collapse of the wave function" in quantum mechanics is the nonlinearities already present in the theory via nonabelian gauge interactions. Unlike all other models of spontaneous collapse, our proposal is, to the best of our knowledge, the only one which does not introduce any new elements into the theory. A possible experimental test of the model would be to compare the coherence lengths - here defined as the distance over which quantum mechanical superposition is still valid - for, \\textit{e.g}, electrons and photons in a double-slit experiment. The electrons should have a finite coherence length, while photons should have a much ...

Living cells are a non-equilibrium mechanical system, largely because intracellular molecular motors consume chemical energy to generate forces that reorganize and maintain cytoskeletal functions. Persistently under tension, the network of cytoskeletal proteins exhibits a nonlinearmechanical behavior where the network stiffness increases with intracellular tension. We examined the nonlinearmechanical properties of living cells by characterizing the differential stiffness of the cytoskeletal network for HeLa cells under different intracellular tensions. Combining optical tweezer-based active and passive microrheology methods, we measured non-thermal fluctuating forces and found them to be much larger than the thermal fluctuating force. From the variations of differential stiffness caused by the fluctuating non-thermal force for cells under different tension, we obtained a master curve describing the differential stiffness as a function of the intracellular tension. Varying the intracellular tension by treating cells with drugs that alter motor protein activities we found the differential stiffness follows the same master curve that describes intracellular stiffness as a function of intracellular tension. This observation suggests that cells can regulate their mechanical properties by adjusting intracellular tension.

Nitroxide radical formations of deferoxamine mesylate (DFX) that is used clinically to treat iron-overload patients was examined by a tyrosine-tyrosinase reaction system as models of the H-atom transfer or proton-coupled electron transfer. When DFX was exposed to the tyrosine-tyrosinase reaction, nine-line ESR spectrum (g = 2.0063, hfcc; aN = 0.78 mT, aH(2) = 0.63 mT) was detected, indicating that the oxidation of DFX leads to a nitroxide radical. The signal intensity of the DFX radical increased dependently on the concentrations of tyrosine and tyrosinase. The amounts of DMPO-OH spin adducts via the tyrosine-tyrosinase reaction declined with DFX. Furthermore, mass spectra of an extra removed from the tyrosine-tyrosinase reaction mixture showed that the enzyme reactions might not be degradations of DFX. Therefore, there might be two types of DFX reaction passways, which could be through an internal electron transfer from tyrosine and hydrogen absorptions by ·OH directly.

Full Text Available The Kabachnik–Fields (phospha-Mannich reaction involving the condensation of primary or secondary amines, oxo compounds (aldehydes and ketones and >P(OH species, especially dialkyl phosphites, represents a good choice for the synthesis of α-aminophosphonates that are of significant importance due to their biological activity. In general, these three-component reactions may take place via an imine or an α-hydroxy-phosphonate intermediate. The monitoring of a few Kabachnik–Fields reactions by in situ Fourier transform IR spectroscopy has indicated the involvement of the imine intermediate that was also justified by theoretical calculations. The Kabachnik–Fields reaction was extended to >P(OH species, comprising cyclic phosphites, acyclic and cyclic H-phosphinates, as well as secondary phosphine oxides. On the other hand, heterocyclic amines were also used to prepare new α-amino phosphonic, phosphinic and phosphine oxide derivatives. In most cases, the synthesis under solvent-free microwave (MW conditions is the method of choice. It was proved that, in the cases studied by us, there was no need for the use of any catalyst. Moreover, it can be said that sophisticated and environmentally unfriendly catalysts suggested are completely unnecessary under MW conditions. Finally, the double Kabachnik–Fields reaction has made available bis(phosphonomethylamines, bis(phosphinoxidomethylamines and related species. The bis(phosphinoxidomethylamines serve as precursors for bisphosphines that furnish ring platinum complexes on reaction with dichlorodibenzonitriloplatinum.

The SN2 mechanism for the reaction of CH3Cl + OH- in aqueous solution was investigated using combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanics methodology. We analyzed structures of reactant, transition and product states along the reaction pathway. The free energy profile was calculated using the multi-layered representation with the DFT and CCSD(T) level of theory for the quantum-mechanical description of the reactive region. Our results show that the aqueous environment has a significant impact on the reaction process. We find that solvation energy contribution raises the reaction barrier by ~18.9 kcal/mol and the reaction free energy by ~24.5 kcal/mol. The presence of the solvent also induces perturbations in the electronic structure of the solute leading to an increase of 3.5 kcal/mol for the reaction barrier and a decrease of 5.6 kcal/mol for the reaction free energy respectively. Combining the results of two previous calculation results on CHCl3 + OH- and CH2Cl2 + OH- reactions in water, we demonstrate that increase in the chlorination of the methyl group (from CH3Cl to CHCl3) is accompanied by the decrease in the free energy reaction barrier, with the CH3Cl + OH- having the largest barrier among the three reactions.

Some reactions (e.g., oxidation of nitrite, denitrification of ammonium) are accelerated in freeze-concentrated solution (FCS) compared to those in aqueous solution. Ice is highly intolerant to impurities, and the ice excludes those that would accelerate reactions. Here we show the acceleration of the N-nitrosation reaction of dimethylamine (DMA) with nitrite to produce N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in FCS. NDMA is a carcinogenic compound, and this reaction is potentially accelerated in frozen fish/meat. The eaction rate of the N-nitrosation reaction becomes fastest at specific pH. This means that it is a third-order reaction. Theoretical pH values of the peak in the third-order reaction are higher than the experimental one. Freeze-concentration of acidic solution causes pH decrement; however, the freeze-concentration alone could not explain the difference of pH values. The theoretical value was obtained under the assumption that no solute took part in ice. However, solutes are incorporated in ice with a small distribution coefficient of solutes into ice. This small incorporation enhanced the decrement of pH values. Using the distribution coefficient of chloride and sodium ion and assuming those of nitrite and DMA to explain the enhancement, we succeeded in estimating the distribution coefficients of nitrite: 2 × 10(-3) and DMA: 3 × 10(-2).

In a previous study [E.T. Smith, C.A. Davis, M.J. Barber, Anal. Biochem. 323 (2003) 114-121], cyclic voltammograms were simulated using DigiSim software for reactionmechanisms involving multiple electron transfer steps coupled to proton transfer. Specifically, the overall reactionmechanism of the form: FAD+2e{sup -}+2H{sup +}-bar FADH{sub 2} was used to simulate experimental reduction potentials as a function of pH. Experimental observations for free FAD were simulated based on selected reduction potentials and acid dissociation constants for three different reactionmechanisms. In this study, these three reactionmechanisms were examined further using simulations of concentration profiles to identify species that are present in significant concentrations during the electron transfer process. These concentration profiles can then be used as working curves to identify reactionmechanisms and equilibrium constants. For example, two of the three reactionmechanisms, both of which involve a redox reaction coupled to a single proton, indicate significant formation of the semiquinone species at the electrode surface at high pH and low potentials. Previous spectroscopic studies of flavoproteins with an n=2 reactionmechanism have been unable to detect the formation of a semiquinone under any experimental conditions. Thus, the most reasonable pathway for a proton-coupled n=2 reactionmechanism is likely to involve two protons.

Nonlinear modifications of quantum mechanics have a troubled history. They were initially studied for many promising reasons: resolving the measurement problem, formulating a theory of quantum mechanics and gravity, and understanding the limits of standard quantum mechanics. However, certain non-linear theories have been experimentally tested and failed. More significantly, it has been shown that, in general, deterministic non-linear theories can be used for superluminal communication. We highlight another serious issue: the distribution of measurement results predicted by non-linear quantum mechanics depends on the formulation of quantum mechanics. In other words, Born’s rule cannot be uniquely extended to non-linear quantum mechanics. We present these generalizations of Born’s rule, and then examine whether some exclude superluminal communication. We determine that a large class do not allow for superluminal communication, but many lack a consistent definition. Nonetheless, we find a single extension of Born’s rule with a sound operational definition, and that does not exhibit superluminal communication. The non-linear time-evolution leading to a certain measurement event is driven by the state conditioned on measurements that lie within the past light cone of that event.

Reactions occurring at a carbon atom through the Walden inversion mechanism are one of the most important and useful classes of reactions in chemistry. Here we report an accurate theoretical study of the simplest reaction of that type: the H+CH4 substitution reaction and its isotope analogues. It is found that the reaction threshold versus collision energy is considerably higher than the barrier height. The reaction exhibits a strong normal secondary isotope effect on the cross-sections measured above the reaction threshold, and a small but reverse secondary kinetic isotope effect at room temperature. Detailed analysis reveals that the reaction proceeds along a path with a higher barrier height instead of the minimum-energy path because the umbrella angle of the non-reacting methyl group cannot change synchronously with the other reaction coordinates during the reaction due to insufficient energy transfer from the translational motion to the umbrella mode.

Full Text Available In this paper, a Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO based higher order neural network with a single hidden layer called Pi–Sigma Neural Network (PSNN has been proposed for data classification which maintains fast learning capability and avoids the exponential increase of number of weights and processing units. CRO is a recent metaheuristic optimization algorithm inspired by chemical reactions, free from intricate operator and parameter settings such as other algorithms and loosely couples chemical reactions with optimization. The performance of the proposed CRO-PSNN has been tested with various benchmark datasets from UCI machine learning repository and compared with the resulting performance of PSNN, GA-PSNN, PSO-PSNN. The methods have been implemented in MATLAB and the accuracy measures have been tested by using the ANOVA statistical tool. Experimental results show that the proposed method is fast, steady and reliable and provides better classification accuracy than others.

This paper provides detailed comparisons of chemical reactionmechanisms of H2 applicable at high preheat temperatures and pressures relevant to gas turbine and particularly Alstom's reheat gas turbine conditions. It is shown that the available reactionmechanisms exhibit large differences in several important elementary reaction coefficients. The reactionmechanisms are assessed by comparing ignition delay and laminar flame speed results obtained from CHEMKIN with available data, however, the amount of data at these conditions is scarce and a recommended candidate among the mechanisms can presently not be selected. Generally, the results with the GRI-Mech and Leeds mechanisms deviate from the Davis, Li, O'Conaire, Konnov and San Diego mechanisms, but there are also significant deviations between the latter five mechanisms that altogether are better adapted to hydrogen. The differences in ignition delay times between the dedicated hydrogen mechanisms (O'Conaire, Li and Konnov) range from approximately a maxim...

The rate of the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with N-containing reducing agents may be considerably enhanced by converting part of the NO into NO{sub 2}. The reaction using an equimolar mixture of NO and NO{sub 2} is known as 'fast SCR reaction' and the rate enhancement is most pronounced at low temperatures (T<300{sup o}C). In the present work the possible role of NO{sub 2} on catalysts based on TiO{sub 2}-WO{sub 3}-V{sub 2}O{sub 5} was investigated by in-situ Raman spectroscopy. The experiments suggest that the V{sup +4} species formed during the reduction of NO with ammonia are reoxidized faster by NO{sub 2} than by oxygen, resulting in an increased reaction rate of the fast SCR reaction. (author)

The cardiovascular system with a lumped parameter model is treated, in which the Starling model is used to simulate left ventricle and the four-element Burattini & Gnudi model is used in the description of arterial system. Moreover, the feedback action of arterial pressure on cardiac cycle is taken into account. The phenomenon of mechanical periodicity (MP) of end diastolic volume (EDV) of left ventricle is successfully simulated by solving a series of one-dimensional discrete nonlinear dynamical equations. The effects of cardiovascular parameters on MP is also discussed.

In this paper we formulate the initial-boundary value problems of accreting cylindrical and spherical nonlinear elastic solids in a geometric framework. It is assumed that the body grows as a result of addition of new (stress-free or pre-stressed) material on part of its boundary. We construct Riemannian material manifolds for a growing body with metrics explicitly depending on the history of applied external loads and deformation during accretion and the growth velocity. We numerically solve the governing equilibrium equations in the case of neo-Hookean solids and compare the accretion and residual stresses with those calculated using the linear mechanics of surface growth.

An interesting characteristic of magnetospheric chorus is the presence of a frequency gap at $\\omega \\simeq 0.5\\Omega_e$, where $\\Omega_e$ is the electron cyclotron angular frequency. Recent chorus observations sometimes show additional gaps near $0.3\\Omega_e$ and $0.6\\Omega_e$. Here we present a novel nonlinearmechanism for the formation of these gaps using Hamiltonian theory and test-particle simulations in a homogeneous, magnetized, collisionless plasma. We find that an oblique whistler wave with frequency at a fraction of the electron cyclotron frequency can resonate with electrons, leading to effective energy exchange between the wave and particles.

The gas phase reactionmechanism of Cl2 + I2 = 2ICI has been theoretically investigated by DFT method at the B3LYP/3-21G* level. Transition states of three reaction channels were consequently given. The results indicate that in the title reaction the least activation energy of bi-molecular reaction was smaller than the dissociation energies of I2 and Cl2, and thus the reactionmechanism was the course of molecule-molecule interaction at low reaction rate. If other factors such as illumination were taken into account, I2 could dissociate into I atoms and then react with Cl2,or Cl2 dissociates into Cl atoms and reacts with I2. These were photochemical reactions with high reaction speed. The theoretical results were further validated with absorbance measurement at 516 nm.

Reaction-diffusion equations with a fractional Laplacian are reduced near a long wave Hopf bifurcation. The obtained amplitude equation is shown to be the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with a fractional Laplacian. Some of the properties of the normal complex Ginzburg-Landau equation are generalized for the fractional analogue. In particular, an analogue of the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation is derived.

Catalytic effect and hydrogen reactionmechanism of Ti doped in NaAlH4 were elaborated in this paper, and current viewpoints about Ti active species in hydrogen reaction were discussed, in a further step, the possibility and practicality of the hydrogen reactionmechanism of Ti-doped NaAlH4 were elucidated. They could be summarized as follows: while the current theory about the hydrogen reactionmecha-nism of Ti-doped NaAlH4 should be further improved and modified, the research on Ti-doped NaAlH4 would be a recommendable pattern for the catalyst research in other metal complex hydrides.

Full Text Available Ester interchange reactions such as the interesterification of triglycerides and their transesterification with methanol (methanolysis to produce FAME (biodiesel nowadays invariably use a basic catalyst such as an alkali alcoholate or hydroxide. Whereas it was formerly assumed that the catalytically active intermediates in the interesterification reaction and the methanolysis reaction were the glycerolate anion and the methanolate anion respectively, it now looks far more likely that the enolate anion plays a major role whenever the concentration of free alcohol groups in the reaction medium is small in comparison with the concentration of fatty acid moieties. Which mechanism dominates in which reaction and which reaction stage will be explained and discussed.

The primary emphasis of this work on kinetics is to illustrate the a posteriori approach to applications, where focus on data leads to novel outcomes, rather than the a priori tendencies of applied analysis which imposes constructs on the nature of the observable. The secondary intention is the development of appropriate methods consonant with experimental definitions. By focusing on gradients, it is possible to determine both the average and instantaneous rate constants that can monitor changes in the rate constant with concentration changes as suggested by this theory. Here, methods are developed and discussed utilizing nonlinear analysis which does not require exact knowledge of initial concentrations. These methods are compared with those derived from standard methodology. These gradient methods are shown to be consistent with the ones from standard methods and could readily serve as alternatives for studies where there are limits or unknowns in the initial conditions, such as in the burgeoning fields of ...

Alkali-silica reactions (ASR) are found all over the world and cause a large number of damage, which have lead to different sets of requirements in the different countries for the aggregates, the cements and the admixtures. One of the reasons for the damage and the different requirements is that ...

Full Text Available FCC (Fluid Catalytic Cracking catalyst iron poisoning would not only influence units’ product slate; when the poisoning is serious, it could also jeopardize FCC catalysts’ fluidization in reaction-regeneration system and further cause bad influences on units’ stable operation. Under catalytic cracking reaction conditions, large amount of iron nanonodules is formed on the seriously iron contaminated catalyst due to exothermic reaction. These nodules intensify the attrition between catalyst particles and generate plenty of fines which severely influence units’ smooth running. A dense layer could be formed on the catalysts’ surface after iron contamination and the dense layer stops reactants to diffuse to inner structures of catalyst. This causes extremely negative effects on catalyst’s heavy oil conversion ability and could greatly cut down gasoline yield while increasing yields of dry gas, coke, and slurry largely. Research shows that catalyst’s reaction performance would be severely deteriorated when iron content in E-cat (equilibrium catalyst exceeds 8000 μg/g.

Predictive computation of the nonlinear dynamical responses of gap-supported tubes subjected to flow excitation has been the subject of very active research. Nevertheless, there is a need for robust techniques capable of extracting, from the actual vibratory response data, information which is relevant for asserting the components integrity. The dynamical contact/impact (vibro-impact) forces are of paramount significance, as are the tube/support gaps. Following our previous studies in this field using wave-propagation techniques, we apply modal methods in the present paper for extracting such information. The dynamical support forces, as well as the vibratory responses at the support locations, are identified from one or several vibratory response measurements at remote transducers, from which the support gaps can be inferred. As for most inverse problems, the identification results prove quite sensitive to noise and modeling error problems. Therefore, topics discussed in the paper include regularization techniques to mitigate the effects of non-measured noise perturbations. In particular, a method is proposed to improve the identification of contact forces at the supports when the system is excited by an unknown distributed turbulence force field. The important topic of dealing with the imperfect knowledge of the modal parameters used to build the inverted transfer functions is addressed elsewhere. Here, the extensive identifications presented are based on the exact modal parameters and performed on realistic numerical simulations of gap-supported tubes subjected to flow excitation. We can thus confront the identified dynamical support contact forces and vibratory motions at the gap-support with the actual values stemming from the original nonlinear computations, with overall satisfying results. (authors)

The mechanical properties of cells and the extracellular environment they reside in are governed by a complex interplay of biopolymers. These biopolymers, which possess a wide range of stiffnesses, self-assemble into fibrous composite networks such as the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix. They interact with each other both physically and chemically to create a highly responsive and adaptive mechanical environment that stiffens when stressed or strained. Here we show that hybrid networks of a synthetic mimic of biological networks and either stiff, flexible and semi-flexible components, even very low concentrations of these added components, strongly affect the network stiffness and/or its strain-responsive character. The stiffness (persistence length) of the second network, its concentration and the interaction between the components are all parameters that can be used to tune the mechanics of the hybrids. The equivalence of these hybrids with biological composites is striking.

In this work, a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) strategy is proposed to regulate the concentrations of the different gas species inside a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) anode gas channel. The purpose of the regulation relies on the rejection of the unmeasurable perturbations that affect the system: the hydrogen reaction and water transport terms. The model of the anode channel is derived from the discretisation of the partial differential equations that define the nonlinear dynamics of the system, taking into account spatial variations along the channel. Forward and backward discretisations of the distributed model are employed to take advantage of the boundary conditions of the problem. A linear observer is designed and implemented to perform output-feedback control of the plant. This information is fed to the controller to regulate the states towards their desired values. Simulation results are presented to show the performance of the proposed control method over a given case study. Different cost functions are compared and the one with minimum state-regulation error is identified. Suitable dynamic responses are obtained facing the different considered disturbances.

An alternating direction implicit (ADI) orthogonal spline collocation (OSC) method is described for the approximate solution of a class of nonlinearreaction-diffusion systems. Its efficacy is demonstrated on the solution of well-known examples of such systems, specifically the Brusselator, Gray-Scott, Gierer-Meinhardt and Schnakenberg models, and comparisons are made with other numerical techniques considered in the literature. The new ADI method is based on an extrapolated Crank-Nicolson OSC method and is algebraically linear. It is efficient, requiring at each time level only $O({\\cal N})$ operations where ${\\cal N}$ is the number of unknowns. Moreover,it is shown to produce approximations which are of optimal global accuracy in various norms, and to possess superconvergence properties.

A unified treatment of different reactionmechanisms in nonrelativistic N-body scattering is presented. The theory is based on connected kernel integral equations that are expected to become compact for reasonable constraints on the potentials. The operators T/sub +-//sup ab/(A) are approximate transition operators that describe the scattering proceeding through an arbitrary reactionmechanism A. These operators are uniquely determined by a connected kernel equation and satisfy an optical theorem consistent with the choice of reactionmechanism. Connected kernel equations relating T/sub +-//sup ab/(A) to the full T/sub +-//sup ab/ allow correction of the approximate solutions for any ignored process to any order. This theory gives a unified treatment of all few-body reactionmechanisms with the same dynamic simplicity of a model calculation, but can include complicated reactionmechanisms involving overlapping configurations where it is difficult to formulate models.

We develop a novel disturbance observer-based adaptive fuzzy control approach in this paper for a class of uncertain multi-input-multi-output mechanical systems possessing unknown input nonlinearities, i.e., deadzone and saturation and time-varying external disturbance. It is shown that the input nonlinearities can be represented by a nominal part and a nonlinear disturbance term. High-dimensional integral-type Lyapunov function is used to construct the controller. Fuzzy logic system is employed to cancel model uncertainties, and disturbance observer is also integrated into control design to compensate the fuzzy approximation error, external disturbance, and nonlinear disturbance caused by the unknown input nonlinearities. Semiglobally uniformly ultimately boundness of the closed-loop control system is guaranteed with tracking errors keeping bounded. Experimental studies on a robotic exoskeleton using the proposed control demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.

Widely cited and accepted explanation of reactionmechanism of the case study reaction of chemical kinetics between Cr(III) ions and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) contradicts modern chromium(III) coordination chemistry data. Absorption UV and visible light spectra were recorded during the reaction between aqueous solution of Cr(NO(3))(3) and EDTA in order to obtain new information about this reaction. Analysis of the spectra showed that only very small fraction of intermediates may be present in solution during the course of the reaction. The reaction scheme was established and according to it calculations based on a simplified model were carried out. Literature data for constants were used if known, otherwise, adjusted values of their sound estimates were applied. Reasonable agreement of the model calculations with the experimental data was obtained for pH values 3.8 and 4.5 but the model failed to reproduce measured rate of reaction at pH 5.5, probably due to the use of the oversimplified model.

Far from equilibrium: This thesis provides a deep mechanistic analysis of the electrooxidation of methanol when the system is kept far from the thermodynamic equilibrium. Under an oscillatory regime, interesting characteristics between the elementary reaction steps were observed. We were able to elucidate the effect of the intrinsic drift in a potential time-series responsible for spontaneous transition of temporal patterns and the carbon dioxide decoupling from direct and indirect pathways.

Tramadol (TRA) is one of the most detected analgesics in environmental matrices, and it is of high significance to study the reactivity of TRA during chlorination considering its potential toxicity to the environment. The chlorine/TRA reaction is first order with respect to the TRA concentration, and a combination of first-order and second-order with respect to chlorine concentration. The pH dependence of the observed rate constants (kobs) showed that the TRA oxidation reactivity increased with increasing pH. kobs can be quantitatively described by considering all active species including Cl2, Cl2O and HOCl, and the individual rate constants of HOCl/TRA(0), HOCl/TRAH(+), Cl2/TRA and Cl2O/TRA reactions were calculated to be (2.61±0.29)×10(3)M(-1)s(-1), 14.73±4.17M(-1)s(-1), (3.93±0.34)×10(5)M(-1)s(-1) and (5.66±1.83)×10(6)M(-1)s(-1), respectively. Eleven degradation products were detected with UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, and the corresponding structures of eight products found under various pH conditions were proposed. The amine group was proposed to be the initial attack site under alkaline pH conditions, where reaction of the deprotonated amine group with HOCl is favorable. Under acidic and neutral pH conditions, however, two possible reaction pathways were proposed. One is an electrophilic substitution on the aromatic ring, and another is an electrophilic substitution on the nitrogen, leading to an N-chlorinated intermediate, which can be further oxidized. Finally, the SOS/umu test showed that the genotoxicity of TRA chlorination products increased with increasing dosage of chlorine, which was mostly attributed to the formation of some chlorine substitution products.

Full Text Available This paper presents the original method of controlled building damage mechanisms based on Nonlinear Static Pushover Analysis (NSPA-DMBD. The optimal building damage mechanism is determined based on the solution of the Capacity Design Method (CDM, and the response of the building is considered in incremental situations. The development of damage mechanism of a system in such incremental situations is being controlled on the strain level, examining the relationship of current and limit strains in concrete and reinforcement steel. Since the procedure of the system damage mechanism analysis according to the NSPA-DMBD method is being iteratively implemented and designing checked after the strain reaches the limit, for this analysis a term Iterative-Interactive Design (IID has been introduced. By selecting, monitoring and controlling the optimal damage mechanism of the system and by developed NSPA-DMBD method, damage mechanism of the building is being controlled and the level of resistance to an early collapse is being increased. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 36043

A laboratory experiment was designed for undergraduate students, in which the outcome of an easy single-step organic synthesis with well-defined conditions was not elucidated until the end of the exercise. In class, students predict and discuss the possible products using their knowledge of reactionmechanisms. In the laboratory, they learn how to…

Recent efforts in soft-condensed matter physics has generated a renewed interest in the fundamental physics of continuum systems. There has been a recognition that a wide variety of systems, from glasses to foams to granular material, exhibit similar behavior with regard to their dynamics. Even under conditions of external driving, these systems are often ``jammed''. In other words, they exhibit a solid like response to the external driving. With sufficient driving force, there is a transition to a flowing state as the system ''unjams''. This flowing state is generally comprised of nonlinear rearrangements of particles within the system. The question has been raised as to whether or not this represents a general new state of matter, or if the details of each individual system is relevant. At the same time, the interest in the response of complex fluids, such as foams and granular matter, that are composed of mesoscopic, or even macrosopic, sized ``particles'' (such as sand grains), has raised interesting questions concerning the application of continuum mechanics to these systems. Both the nonlinear response of these materials and the application of continuum mechanics raise fundamental physics questions that are generally not covered in typical undergraduate (or even graduate) curricula. This talk will not only review some of the important questions in this field, but also present suggestions as to its integration into the undergraduate curriculum.

Micro-electro-mechanical systems or MEMS are used in a variety of today's technology and can be modeled using equations for nonlinear damped harmonic oscillators. Mathematical expressions have been formulated to determine resonance frequency shifts as a result of hardening and softening effects in MEMS devices. In this work we experimentally test the previous theoretical analysis of MEMS resonance frequency shifts in the nonlinear regime. Devices were put under low pressure at room temperature and swept through a range of frequencies with varying AC and DC excitation voltages to detect shifts in the resonant frequency. The MEMS device studied in this work exhibits a dominating spring softening effect due to the device's physical make-up. The softening effect becomes very dominant as the AC excitation is increased and the frequency shift of the resonance peak becomes quite significant at these larger excitations. Hardening effects are heavily dependent on mechanical factors that make up the MEMS devices. But they are not present in these MEMS devices. I will present our results along with the theoretical analysis of the Duffing oscillator model. This work was supported by NSF grant DMR-1461019 (REU) and DMR-1205891 (YL).

The methanol-to-olefin process is a showcase example of complex zeolite-catalyzed chemistry. At real operating conditions, many factors affect the reactivity, such as framework flexibility, adsorption of various guest molecules, and competitive reaction pathways. In this study, the strength of first

In this paper we report on the results of investigations of nonlinear dynamics and bifurcation mechanisms in intense electron beam with virtual cathode in micrometer-scaled source of sub-THz electromagnetic radiation. The numerical analysis is provided by means of 3D electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. We have studied evolution of the system dynamics with the change of beam current value by means of Fourier and bifurcation analysis. The bifurcation diagram has identified a number of the alternating regions of beam current with regular or chaotic regimes of system dynamics. The study of spatiotemporal dynamics of formed electron structures in the beam has revealed the physical mechanisms responsible for the regimes switchings in the system.

It is a theoretical study on the water-assisted mechanism of one-carbon unit transfer reaction, in which the energy barrier for each transition state lowered by about 80-100 kJ/mol when compared with the one in no-water-involved mechanism. The water-assisted path 4 is the favorite reaction way. Our results well explained the presumption from experiments.

The reaction between iodate and thiourea has been studied in an unbuffered acidic medium. In excess iodate the reaction shows not only oligooscillations in pH, Pt potential and the concentration of iodide ion, [I-], but also an initial induction period which has the linear relation with initial pH. At the end of the induction period, [I-] decreases sharply and a yellow coloration (due to iodine) appears transiently. While in excess thiourea iodine is produced and finally consumed, leaving milky deposits (due to sulfur) at the end of the reaction. The induction period from the start of the reaction to the maximum of [I2] is also directly proportional to initial pH. A 14-step mechanism, including a H+-mediated preequalibrium, Dusman reaction, iodine-sulfur reactions and sulfur-sulfur reactions, is proposed. Computer simulations using this mechanism give good agreement with experiments.

Fundamental equations of the electron theory ; transformation of the potentials ; other types of solution ; physical interpretation of the solutions obtained ; illustrative examples ; remarks on the solutions obtained and on the methods of calculating the potentials in general ; periodic motions ; on the distant field due to a moving charge ; pseudo-periodic and aperiodic motions ; on the field near the orbit of a moving charge or group ; the mechanical forces acting on electric charges in motion ; the motion of groups of electric charges ; on the Doppler effect ; on the disturbed motion of a ring of electrons ; on the field close to a point charge in motion ; the mechanical force exterted by an electron on itself ; the mechanical explanation of the electron ; the mechanics of the Lorentz electron ; problems illustrative of the motion of the Lorentz electron.

This paper deals with the characterization of the strength of the constituents of carbon fiber reinforced plastic laminate (CFRP), and a prediction of the static compressive strength of open-hole structure of polymer composites. The approach combined with non-linear analysis in macro-level and a linear elastic micromechanical failure analysis in microlevel (non-linear MMF) is proposed to improve the prediction accuracy. A face-centered cubic micromechanics model is constructed to analyze the stresses in fiber and matrix in microlevel. Non-interactive failure criteria are proposed to characterize the strength of fiber and matrix. The non-linear shear behavior of the laminate is studied experimentally, and a novel approach of cubic spline interpolation is used to capture significant non-linear shear behavior of laminate. The user-defined material subroutine UMAT for the non-linear share behavior is developed and combined in the mechanics analysis in the macro-level using the Abaqus Python codes. The failure mechanism and static strength of open-hole compressive (OHC) structure of polymer composites is studied based on non-linear MMF. The UTS50/E51 CFRP is used to demonstrate the application of theory of non-linear MMF.

1. The Abderhalden reaction is specific. 2. The properties of serum on which it depends develop in experimental animals simultaneously with antibodies during the process of immunization. 3. It is impossible to observe by direct methods the presence of digesting ferments in the blood of immune animals. 4. The Abderhalden test may be resolved into two phases. A dialyzable substance appears in the second phase and is the result of the autodigestion of serum. 5. The autodigestion of serum in the Abderhalden test is due to the removal of antitrypsin from the serum by the sensitized substratum.

We derive the first law of black hole mechanics from a general nonlinear electrodynamics Lagrangian. Compared with a similar derivation in the literature, our first law is verified by the Bardeen black hole which has been found to possess a nonlinear magnetic monopole. We also propose an alternative first law for the Bardeen black hole, by introducing a new mass formula, which has a simple expression and corresponds to a desired Smarr formula.

The methanol-to-olefin process is a showcase example of complex zeolite-catalyzed chemistry. At real operating conditions, many factors affect the reactivity, such as framework flexibility, adsorption of various guest molecules, and competitive reaction pathways. In this study, the strength of first principle molecular dynamics techniques to capture this complexity is shown by means of two case studies. Firstly, the adsorption behavior of methanol and water in H-SAPO-34 at 350 °C is investigated. Hereby an important degree of framework flexibility and proton mobility was observed. Secondly, the methylation of benzene by methanol through a competitive direct and stepwise pathway in the AFI topology was studied. Both case studies clearly show that a first-principle molecular dynamics approach enables unprecedented insights into zeolite-catalyzed reactions at the nanometer scale to be obtained.

The potential energy surface for the CH3S + NO2 reaction has been studied using the ab initio G3 (MP2) method. A variety of possible complexes and saddle points along the minimum energy reaction paths have been characterized at UMP2 (full)/6-31G(d) level. The calculations reveal dominating reactionmechanisms of the title reaction: CH3S + NO2 firstly produce intermediate CH3SONO, then break up into CH3SO + NO. The results are valuable to understand the atmospheric sulfur compounds oxidation mechanism.

The rate constants for the NCN +NO reaction have been measured by laser photolysis/laser-induced fluorescence technique in the temperature range of 254-353K in the presence of He (40-600Torr) and N2 (30-528Torr) buffer gases. The NCN radical was produced from the photodissociation of NCN3 at 193nm and monitored with a dye laser at 329.01nm. The reaction was found to be strongly positive-pressure dependent with negative-temperature dependence, as was reported previously. The experimental data could be reasonably accounted for by dual-channel Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus calculations based on the predicted potential-energy surface using the modified Gaussian-2 method. The reaction is predicted to occur via weak intermediates, cis- and trans-NCNNO, in the A″2 state which crosses with the A'2 state containing more stable cis- and trans-NCNNO isomers. The high barriers for the fragmentation of these isomers and their trapping in the A'2 state by collisional stabilization give rise to the observed positive-pressure dependence and negative-temperature effect. The predicted energy barrier for the fragmentation of the cis-NCNNO (A'2) to CN +N2O also allows us to quantitatively account for the rate constant previously measured for the reverse process CN +N2O→NCN+NO.

Pure CoO nanoparticles have been synthesized using solvothermal method at 150℃ with Co(CH3COO)2 · 4H2O and anhydrous ethanol as reactants. SEM, TEM and XRD were employed to characterize the size, morphology and crystalline structure of the as-synthesized CoO nanoparti cles. It is revealed that the CoO nanoparticles are of octahedron configuration in face-centered cubic (FCC) structure with a lattice constant of 0. 426 nm and have an average particle size of about 50 nm. Typically, when the concentration of Co(CH3COO)2·4H2O in CH3CH2OH reduces from 0.24 mol/L to 0.08 mol/L, the size of CoO nanoparticles decreases from 500 nm to 50 nm. Based on the results of IR analysis of the finished reaction liquid and XRD of products, the reaction mech anism of the solvothermal system has been discussed.

We brieﬂy review concept of the quark recombination (QRC) model and a general success of the model. To solve the existing problem, so called anomalous spin observables, in the high energy hyperon spin phenomena, we propose a mechanism; the primarily produced quarks, which are predominantly and quarks, act as the leading partons to form the hyperons. Extension of the quark recombination concept with this mechanism is successful in providing a good account of the anomalous spin observables. Another kind of anomaly, the non-zero analysing power and spin depolarization in the hyperon productions, are also discussed and well understood by the presently proposed mechanism. Recently, a further difﬁculty was observed in an exclusive K+ production and we will indicate a possible diagram for resolving it.

Creatures as varied as mammals, fish, insects, reptiles, and birds have an intriguing sixth sense that allows them to orient themselves in the Earth's magnetic field. Despite decades of study, the physical basis of this magnetic sense remains elusive. A likely mechanism is furnished by magnetically...

The highest compliment a reviewer can give is to adopt the text that he reviews. The next advanced course I teach will use The Art of Writing Reasonable ReactionMechanisms with the goal that students will be able to posit a plausible mechanism for any new reaction that they encounter. To those of you who have taught traditional physical organic chemistry out of the classic texts, I ask you to consider trying something, well… completely different. The Art of Writing Reasonable ReactionMechanisms might just change the way you do things.

Research accomplishments are summarized and publications generated under the contract are listed. The general purpose of the research was to investigate various symmetry breaking problems in fluid mechanics by the use of structure parameters and selection principles. Although all of the nonlinear problems studied involved systems of partial differential equations, many of these problems led to the study of a single nonlinear operator equation of the form F(w, lambda, gamma) = 0, (w is an element of H), (lambda is an element of R1), (gamma is an element of R1). Instead of varying only the load parameter lambda, as is often done in the study of such equations, one of the main ideas used was to vary the structure parameter gamma in such a way that stable solutions were obtained. In this way one determines detailed stability results by making use of the structure of the model equations and the known physical parameters of the problem. The approach was carried out successfully for Benard-type convection problems, Taylor-like problems for short cylinders, rotating Couette-Poiseuille channel flows, and plane Couette flows. The main focus of the research was on wave theory of vortex breakdown in a tube. A number of preliminary results for inviscid axisymmetric flows were obtained.

Over the years, several approaches have been devised to widen the operating bandwidth, but most of them can only be triggered at high accelerations. In this work, we investigate a broadband energy harvester based on combination of non-linear stiffening effect and multimodal energy harvesting to obtain high bandwidth over wide range of accelerations (0.1 g–2.0 g). In order to achieve broadband behavior, a polymer based spring exhibiting multimodal energy harvesting is used. Besides, non-linear stiffening effect is introduced by using mechanical stoppers. At low accelerations (energy-harvesting, the obtained bandwidth increases from 23 Hz to 68 Hz with percentage increment of 295% at 1.8 g. Further, we have demonstrated the triboelectric output measured as acceleration sensing signals in terms of voltage and current sensitivity of 4.7 Vg−1 and 19.7 nAg−1, respectively. PMID:28120924

The objective of this paper is to introduce and evaluate the adaptive SLICE method (ASM) for continuous determination of intratidal nonlinear dynamic compliance and resistance. The tidal volume is subdivided into a series of volume intervals called slices. For each slice, one compliance and one resistance are calculated by applying a least-squares-fit method. The volume window (width) covered by each slice is determined based on the confidence interval of the parameter estimation. The method was compared to the original SLICE method and evaluated using simulation and animal data. The ASM was also challenged with separate analysis of dynamic compliance during inspiration. If the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the respiratory data decreased from +∞ to 10 dB, the relative errors of compliance increased from 0.1% to 22% for the ASM and from 0.2% to 227% for the SLICE method. Fewer differences were found in resistance. When the SNR was larger than 40 dB, the ASM delivered over 40 parameter estimates (42.2 ± 1.3). When analyzing the compliance during inspiration separately, the estimates calculated with the ASM were more stable. The adaptive determination of slice bounds results in consistent and reliable parameter values. Online analysis of nonlinear respiratory mechanics will profit from such an adaptive selection of interval size.

Based on the compaction characteristic test and the nonlinear compaction deformation characteristics of backfill material, this paper applies the theory of nonlinear elastic foundation of thin plate to establish a mechanical model of backfill body and roof in solid dense backfill coal mining. This study critically anal-yses the deflection equation of the roof by the energy method, derives the conditions of roof breakage and combined with concrete engineering practice analyses, determines roof movement regularity and stabil-ity in solid dense backfill mining. Analysis of the engineering practice of the 13,120 backfill panel of Pingmei 12# mine shows the theoretical maximum of roof convergence in backfill mining to be 415 mm which is in significant agreement with the measured value. During the advancing process of solid backfill mining at the panel, the maximum tensile stress on the roof is less than its tensile strength which does not satisfy the conditions for roof breakage. Drilling results on the roof and ground pressure monitoring show that the integrity of roof is strong, which is consistent with the theoretical calculations described in this study. The results presented in the study provide a basis for further investigation into strata movement theory in solid dense backfill mining.

This paper presents a nonlinear observer-based Lyapunov control for a membrane distillation (MD) process. The control considers the inlet temperatures of the feed and the permeate solutions as inputs, transforming it to boundary control process, and seeks to maintain the temperature difference along the membrane boundaries around a sufficient level to promote water production. MD process is modeled with advection diffusion equation model in two dimensions, where the diffusion and convection heat transfer mechanisms are best described. Model analysis, effective order reduction and parameters physical interpretation, are provided. Moreover, a nonlinear observer has been designed to provide the control with estimates of the temperature evolution at each time instant. In addition, physical constraints are imposed on the control to have an acceptable range of feasible inputs, and consequently, better energy consumption. Numerical simulations for the complete process with real membrane parameter values are provided, in addition to detailed explanations for the role of the controller and the observer. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disordered fibrous networks are ubiquitous in nature as major structural components of living cells and tissues. The mechanical stability of networks generally depends on the degree of connectivity: only when the average number of connections between nodes exceeds the isostatic threshold are networks stable. On increasing the connectivity through this point, such networks undergo a mechanical phase transition from a floppy to a rigid phase. However, even sub-isostatic networks become rigid when subjected to sufficiently large deformations. To study this strain-controlled transition, we perform a combination of computational modelling of fibre networks and experiments on networks of type I collagen fibres, which are crucial for the integrity of biological tissues. We show theoretically that the development of rigidity is characterized by a strain-controlled continuous phase transition with signatures of criticality. Our experiments demonstrate mechanical properties consistent with our model, including the predicted critical exponents. We show that the nonlinearmechanics of collagen networks can be quantitatively captured by the predictions of scaling theory for the strain-controlled critical behaviour over a wide range of network concentrations and strains up to failure of the material.

Cellulolytic proteins form a complex of enzymes that work together to depolymerize cellulose to the soluble products cellobiose and glucose. Fundamental studies on their molecular mechanisms have been facilitated by advances in molecular biology. These studies have shown homology between cellulases from different microorganisms, and common mechanisms between enzymes whose modes of action have sometimes been viewed as being different, as suggested by the distribution of soluble products. A more complete picture of the cellulolytic action of these proteins has emerged and combines the physical and chemical characteristics of solid cellulose substrates with the specialized structure and function of the cellulases that break it down. This chapter combines the fundamentals of cellulose structure with enzyme function in a manner that relates the cellulose binding and biochemical kinetics at the catalytic site of the proteins to the macroscopic behavior of cellulase enzyme systems.

The strong Mo-O bond strength provides promising reactivity of Mo-based catalysts for the deoxygenation of biomass-derived oxygenates. Combining the novel dimer saddle point searching method with periodic spin-polarized density functional theory calculations, we investigated the reaction pathways of a acetaldehyde decomposition on the clean Mo(110) surface. Two reaction pathways were identified, a selective deoxygenation and a nonselective fragmentation pathways. We found that acetaldehyde preferentially adsorbs at the pseudo 3-fold hollow site in the η2(C,O) configuration on Mo(110). Among four possible bond (β-C-H, γ-C-H, C-O and C-C) cleavages, the initial decomposition of the adsorbed acetaldehyde produces either ethylidene via the C-O bond scission or acetyl via the β-C-H bond scission while the C-C and the γ-C-H bond cleavages of acetaldehyde leading to the formation of methyl (and formyl) and formylmethyl are unlikely. Further dehydrogenations of ethylidene into either ethylidyne or vinyl are competing and very facile with low activation barriers of 0.24 and 0.31 eV, respectively. Concurrently, the formed acetyl would deoxygenate into ethylidyne via the C-O cleavage rather than breaking the C-C or the C-H bonds. The selective deoxygenation of acetaldehyde forming ethylene is inhibited by relatively weaker hydrogenation capability of the Mo(110) surface. Instead, the nonselective pathway via vinyl and vinylidene dehydrogenations to ethynyl as the final hydrocarbon fragment is kinetically favorable. On the other hand, the strong interaction between ethylene and the Mo(110) surface also leads to ethylene decomposition instead of desorption into the gas phase. This work was financially supported by the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium (NABC). Computing time was granted by a user project (emsl42292) at the Molecular Science Computing Facility in the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL). This work was financially supported

Oxygen atom exchange reactionmechanism in the reaction of OH radicals with AsO was investigated by means of the density functional theory (DFT) with 6-311++G(3df,3pd) and 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets. The calculated results suggest that the reaction between OH and AsO should make the oxygen atoms exchange rapidly because the barrier to isomerization is significantly less than the HO-AsO bond dissociation energy.

We consider equivalent mechanical model of liquid sloshing in partially-filled cylindrical vessel; the model treats both the regime of linear sloshing, and strongly nonlinear sloshing regime. The latter is related to hydraulic impacts applied to the vessel walls. These hydraulic impacts are commonly simulated with the help of high-power potential and dissipation functions. For the sake of analytic exploration, we substitute this traditional approach by treatment of an idealized vibro-impact system with velocity-dependent restitution coefficient. The obtained reduced model is similar to recently explored system of linear primary oscillator with attached vibro-impact energy sink. The ratio of modal mass of the first sloshing mode to the total mass of the liquid and the tank serves as a natural small parameter for multiple-scale analysis. In the case of external ground forcing, steady-state responses and chaotic strongly modulated responses are revealed. All analytical predictions of the reduced vibro-impact mod...

The exchange of physical forces in both cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions play a significant role in a variety of physiological and pathological processes, such as cell migration, cancer metastasis, inflammation and wound healing. Therefore, great interest exists in accurately quantifying the forces that cells exert on their substrate during migration. Traction Force Microscopy (TFM) is the most widely used method for measuring cell traction forces. Several mathematical techniques have been developed to estimate forces from TFM experiments. However, certain simplifications are commonly assumed, such as linear elasticity of the materials and/or free geometries, which in some cases may lead to inaccurate results. Here, cellular forces are numerically estimated by solving a minimization problem that combines multiple non-linear FEM solutions. Our simulations, free from constraints on the geometrical and the mechanical conditions, show that forces are predicted with higher accuracy than when using the standard approaches.

There are many natural, physical, and biological systems that exhibit multiple time scales. For example, the dynamics of a population of ticks can be described in continuous time during their individual life cycle yet discrete time is used to describe the generation of offspring. These characteristics cause the population levels to be reset periodically. A similar phenomenon can be observed in a sociological college drinking model in which the population is reset by the incoming class each year, as described in the 2006 work of Camacho et al. With the latter as our motivation we analytically and numerically investigate the mechanism by which solutions in certain systems with this resetting conditions stabilize. We further utilize the sociological college drinking model as an analogue to analyze certain one-dimensional and two-dimensional nonlinear systems, as we attempt to generalize our results to higher dimensions.

Self-organized quasiperiodicity is one of the most puzzling dynamical phases observed in systems of nonlinear coupled oscillators. The single dynamical units are not locked to the periodic mean field they produce, but they still feature a coherent behavior, through an unexplained complex form of correlation. We consider a class of leaky integrate-and-fire oscillators on random sparse and massive networks with dynamical synapses, featuring self-organized quasiperiodicity, and we show how complex collective oscillations arise from constructive interference of microscopic dynamics. In particular, we find a simple quantitative relationship between two relevant microscopic dynamical time scales and the macroscopic time scale of the global signal. We show that the proposed relation is a general property of collective oscillations, common to all the partially synchronous dynamical phases analyzed. We argue that an analogous mechanism could be at the origin of similar network dynamics.

This book presents a hybrid approach to the mechanics of thin bodies. Classical theories of rods, plates and shells with constrained shear are based on asymptotic splitting of the equations and boundary conditions of three-dimensional elasticity. The asymptotic solutions become accurate as the thickness decreases, and the three-dimensional fields of stresses and displacements can be determined. The analysis includes practically important effects of electromechanical coupling and material inhomogeneity. The extension to the geometrically nonlinear range uses the direct approach based on the principle of virtual work. Vibrations and buckling of pre-stressed structures are studied with the help of linearized incremental formulations, and direct tensor calculus rounds out the list of analytical techniques used throughout the book. A novel theory of thin-walled rods of open profile is subsequently developed from the models of rods and shells, and traditionally applied equations are proven to be asymptotically exa...

Incrementally objective integration schemes are proposed for the accurate and efficient determination of design sensitivity coefficients (DSCs) for solid mechanics problems with both material and geometrical non-linearities. The derivation of these schemes are based on the direct differentiation of objective schemes that are used in stress analysis for problems of this class. Two widely used objective stress rates, the Jaumann rate and the Green-Naghdi rate, are considered here within the only minor changes of the integration scheme. Numerical results are presented for a simple shear problem with different material consititutive laws, including a hypoelastic model and a isotropic viscoplastic model, for these two objective rates. The num0rical results are compared with analytical solutions or direct integration solutions. The close agreement among these solutions demonstrates the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed scheme.

The angular distribution of the 12C(6Li,d) reaction populating the 6.92 and 7.12 MeV states of 16O at sub-Coulomb energy (Ecm=3 MeV) are analysed in the framework of the Distorted Wave Born Approximation (DWBA). Recent results on excitation function measurements and backward angle angular distributions derive ANC for both the states on the basis of an alpha transfer mechanism. In the present work, we show that considering both forward and backward angle data in the analysis, the 7.12 MeV state at sub-Coulomb energy is populated from Compound nuclear process rather than transfer process. The 6.92 MeV state is however produced from direct reactionmechanism.

The bimolecular single collision reaction potential energy surface of CN radical with ketene (CH2CO) was investigated by means of B3LYP and QCISD(T) methods. The calculated results indicate that there are three possible channels in the reaction. The first is an attack reaction by the carbon atom of CN at the carbon atom of the methylene of CH2CO to form the intermediate NCCH2CO followed by a rupture reaction of the C-C bond combined with -CO group to the products CH2CN+CO. The second is a direct addition reaction between CN and CH2CO to form the intermediate CH2C(O)CN followed by its isomerization into NCCH2CO via a CN-shift reaction, and subsequently, NCCH2CO dissociates into CH2CN+CO through a CO-loss reaction. The last is a direct hydrogen abstraction reaction of CH2CO by CN radical. Because of the existence of a 15.44 kJ/mol reaction barrier and higher energy of reaction products, the path can be ruled out as an important channel in the reaction kinetics. The present theoretical computation results, which give an available suggestion on the reactionmechanism, are in good agreement with previous experimental studies.

of succinic acid is suggested to be a result of a coupling reaction of the acetic acid radical A reactionmechanism is suggested for the degradation of quinoline: it involves hydroxyl radicals and the possible interaction with autoclave walls is discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved....

Pulse radiolysis and gamma radiolysis have been used to study the reactionmechanism in the radiolysis of aqueous solutions of Fe2+ and Cu2+. A reaction scheme has been developed and confirmed by computation of the corresponding complete set of differential equations. The rate constants for some...

International audience; Although mammalian vocalizations are predominantly harmonically structured, they can exhibit an acoustic complexity with nonlinear vocal sounds, including deterministic chaos and frequency jumps. Such sounds are normative events in mammalian vocalizations, and can be directly traceable to the nonlinear nature of vocal-fold dynamics underlying typical mammalian sound production. In this study, we give qualitative descriptions and quantitative analyses of nonlinearities ...

The paper discusses a method for the mechanical testing of casebonded composite modified double base charges (CMDB) subjected to thermal cycling. The method proposed to determine stresses and safety margins takes into account the non-linear viscoelastic behaviour and the compressibility of the propellant. The non-linear behaviour is derived from tensile testing. The equations of equilibrium are solved numerically by deviding the grain web into many layers. The nonlinearities mainly concern the modulus; a multiaxial criterion and the time-temperature shift factors are used. At each time-step and for each layer the temperature, the reduced time, the non-linear factor, the Poisson's ratio and the damage according to the concept of Farris are calculated. Different charges (star, wagon wheel, finocyl) were subjected to various types of thermal cycles. The comparison between prediction and experimentation is acceptable even for complex histories in strain and temperature.

This paper presents a nonlinear model-based iterative learning control procedure to achieve accurate tracking control for nonlinear lumped mechanical continuous-time systems. The model structure used in this iterative learning control procedure is new and combines a linear state space model and a nonlinear feature space transformation. An intuitive two-step iterative algorithm to identify the model parameters is presented. It alternates between the estimation of the linear and the nonlinear model part. It is assumed that besides the input and output signals also the full state vector of the system is available for identification. A measurement and signal processing procedure to estimate these signals for lumped mechanical systems is presented. The iterative learning control procedure relies on the calculation of the input that generates a given model output, so-called offline model inversion. A new offline nonlinear model inversion method for continuous-time, nonlinear time-invariant, state space models based on Newton's method is presented and applied to the new model structure. This model inversion method is not restricted to minimum phase models. It requires only calculation of the first order derivatives of the state space model and is applicable to multivariable models. For periodic reference signals the method yields a compact implementation in the frequency domain. Moreover it is shown that a bandwidth can be specified up to which learning is allowed when using this inversion method in the iterative learning control procedure. Experimental results for a nonlinear single-input-single-output system corresponding to a quarter car on a hydraulic test rig are presented. It is shown that the new nonlinear approach outperforms the linear iterative learning control approach which is currently used in the automotive industry on durability test rigs.

A nonlinear system possessing a natural forbidden band gap can transmit energy of a signal with a frequency in the gap, as recently shown for a nonlinear chain of coupled pendulums (Geniet and Leon 2002 Phys. Rev. Lett. 89 134102). This process of nonlinear supratransmission, occurring at a threshold that is exactly predictable in many cases, is shown to have a simple experimental realization with a mechanical chain of pendulums coupled by a coil spring. It is then analysed in more detail. First we go to different (nonintegrable) systems which do sustain nonlinear supratransmission. Then a Josephson transmission line (a one-dimensional array of short Josephson junctions coupled through superconducting wires) is shown to also sustain nonlinear supratransmission, though being related to a different class of boundary conditions, and despite the presence of damping, finiteness, and discreteness. Finally, the mechanism at the origin of nonlinear supratransmission is found to be a nonlinear instability, and this is briefly discussed here.

From a series of studies of the reaction of oxygen atoms with unsaturated hydrocarbons using the crossed molecular beam method, the dominant reactionmechanisms were found to be the simple substitution reactions with oxygen atoms replacing H, Cl, Br atom or alkyl groups. Complication due to secondary reaction was avoided by carrying out experiments under single collisions and observing primary products directly. Primary products were identified by measuring the angular and velocity distributions of products at all the mass numbers which could be detected by the mass spectrometer, and from comparison of these distributions, applying the requirement of energy and momentum conservation.

The reactionmechanism of (CH3)3CO with CO has been theoretically investigated using density-functional theory (DFT) calculations at B3LYP/6-31G* level. In order to get more reliable energy values the single-point energy is evaluated at CCSD (T)/6-31++G** level. The results show that the reaction is multi-channel and the reaction of (CH3)3CO radical with CO mostly produces (CH3)3C + CO2. The reaction could play a role in eliminating air pollution.

Full Text Available Some aspects of the reactionmechanisms in multistep selective (ammoxidation reactions over oxide surfaces are discussed evidencing some of the challenges for surface science and theory in describing these reactions, and for applied catalysis in order to have a more in deep identification of the key factors governing surface reactivity and which may be used to improve catalytic performances. In particular, the role of chemisorbed species in the modification of the surface reactivity and the presence of multiple pathways of reaction are evidenced by comparing the behavior of V-based catalysts in C3-C4 alkanes and alkene oxidation.

This dissertation is based on 5 articles which deal with reactionmechanisms of the following selected industrially important organic reactions: 1. dehydrocyclization of n-butylbenzene to produce naphthalene, 2. dehydrocyclization of 1-(p-tolyl)-2-methylbutane (MB) to produce 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene, 3. esterification of neopentyl glycol (NPG) with different carboxylic acids to produce monoesters, 4. skeletal isomerization of 1-pentene to produce 2-methyl-1-butene and 2-methyl-2-butene. The results of initial- and integral-rate experiments of n-butylbenzene dehydrocyclization over selfmade chromia/alumina catalyst were applied when investigating reaction 2. Reaction 2 was performed using commercial chromia/alumina of different acidity, platina on silica and vanadium/calcium/alumina as catalysts. On all catalysts used for the dehydrocyclization, major reactions were fragmentation of MB and 1-(p-tolyl)-2-methylbutenes (MBes), dehydrogenation of MB, double bond transfer, hydrogenation and 1,6-cyclization of MBes. Minor reactions were 1,5-cyclization of MBes and methyl group fragmentation of 1,6- cyclization products. Esterification reactions of NPG were performed using three different carboxylic acids: propionic, isobutyric and 2-ethylhexanoic acid. Commercial heterogeneous gellular (Dowex 50WX2), macroreticular (Amberlyst 15) type resins and homogeneous para-toluene sulfonic acid were used as catalysts. At first NPG reacted with carboxylic acids to form corresponding monoester and water. Then monoester esterified with carboxylic acid to form corresponding diester. In disproportionation reaction two monoester molecules formed NPG and corresponding diester. All these three reactions can attain equilibrium. Concerning esterification, water was removed from the reactor in order to prevent backward reaction. Skeletal isomerization experiments of 1-pentene were performed over HZSM-22 catalyst. Isomerization reactions of three different kind were detected: double bond, cis

The 2013 Gordon Conference on Inorganic ReactionMechanisms will present cutting-edge research on the molecular aspects of inorganic reactions involving elements from throughout the periodic table and state-of-the art techniques that are used in the elucidation of reactionmechanisms. The Conference will feature a wide range of topics, such as homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, metallobiochemistry, electron-transfer in energy reactions, polymerization, nitrogen fixation, green chemistry, oxidation, solar conversion, alkane functionalization, organotransition metal chemistry, and computational chemistry. The talks will cover themes of current interest including energy, materials, and bioinorganic chemistry. Sections cover: Electron-Transfer in Energy Reactions; Catalytic Polymerization and Oxidation Chemistry; Kinetics and Spectroscopy of Heterogeneous Catalysts; Metal-Organic Chemistry and its Application in Synthesis; Green Energy Conversion;Organometallic Chemistry and Activation of Small Molecules; Advances in Kinetics Modeling and Green Chemistry; Metals in Biology and Disease; Frontiers in Catalytic Bond Activation and Cleavage.

A semi-reduced (70 species, 210 reactions) and a skeletal (27 species, 29 reactions) chemical reactionmechanism for iso-octane are constructed from a semi-detailed iso-octane mechanism (84 species, 412 reactions) of the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. The construction of the reduced mechanisms is performed by using reduction methods such as the quasi-steady-state assumption and the partial equilibrium assumption. The obtained reduced iso-octane mechanisms show, at the mentioned ...

This paper presents an ab initio study of the B/C/Cl/H gas phase mechanism, featuring 10 addition-elimination reactions involving BH(i)Cl(j) (i + j ≤ 3) species and a first description of the chemical interaction between the carbon-containing and boron-containing subsystems through the three reactions BCl(3) + CH(4) ⇌ BCl(2)CH(3) + HCl, BHCl(2) + CH(4) ⇌ BCl(2)CH(3) + H(2), and BCl(2) + CH(4) ⇌ BHCl(2) + CH(3). A reactionmechanism is then proposed and used to perform some illustrative equilibrium and kinetic calculations in the context of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of boron carbide. Our results show that the new addition-elimination reaction paths play a crucial role by lowering considerably the activation barrier with respect to previous theoretical evaluations; they also confirm that BCl(2)CH(3) is an important species in the mechanism.

In this study, multiple reactionmechanisms in cathodes of sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) were characterized by using cyclic voltammetry and microelectrode measurements of dissolved oxygen and pH. The cathodes were acclimated in SMFCs with sediment and seawater from San Diego Bay. Two limiting current regions were observed with onset potentials of approximately +400 mVAg/AgCl for limiting current I and -120 mVAg/AgCl for limiting current II. The appearance of two catalytic waves suggests that multiple cathodic reactionmechanisms influence cathodic performance. Microscale oxygen concentration measurements showed a zero surface concentration at the electrode surface for limiting current II but not for limiting current I, which allowed us to distinguish limiting current II as the conventional oxygen reduction reaction and limiting current I as a currently unidentified cathodic reactionmechanism. Microscale pH measurements further confirmed these results.

Full Text Available In the present paper, a numerical algorithm based on the finite element method is proposed for the prediction of the mechanical response of reinforced concrete (RC beams under bending loading. The main novelty of such an approach is the introduction of the Overlapping Crack Model, based on nonlinear fracture mechanics concepts, to describe concrete crushing. According to this model, the concrete dam- age in compression is represented by means of a fictitious interpenetration. The larger is the interpenetration, the lower are the transferred forces across the damaged zone. The well-known Cohesive Crack Model in tension and an elastic-perfectly plastic stress versus crack opening displacement relationship describing the steel reinforcement behavior are also integrated into the numerical algorithm. The application of the proposed Cohesive-Overlapping Crack Model to the assessment of the minimum reinforcement amount neces- sary to prevent unstable tensile crack propagation and to the evaluation of the rotational capacity of plastic hinges, permits to predict the size-scale effects evidenced by several experimental programs available in the literature. According to the obtained numerical results, new practical design formulae and diagrams are proposed for the improvement of the current code provisions which usually disregard the size effects.

We conducted chlorination, UV photolysis, and UV/chlorin reactions to investigate the intermediate formation and degradation mechanisms of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) in water. Chlorination hardly removed geosmin and 2-MIB, while the UV/chlorine reaction at 254 nm completely removed geosmin and 2-MIB within 40 min and 1 h, respectively, with lesser removals of both compounds during UV photolysis. The kinetics during both UV photolysis and UV/chlorine reactions followed a pseudo first-order reaction. Chloroform was found as a chlorinated intermediate during the UV/chlorine reaction of both geosmin and 2-MIB. The pH affected both the degradation and chloroform production during the UV/chlorine reaction. The open ring and dehydration intermediates identified during UV/chlorine reactions were 1,4-dimethyl-adamantane, and 1,3-dimethyl-adamantane from geosmin, 2-methylenebornane, and 2-methyl-2-bornene from 2-MIB, respectively. Additionally, 2-methyl-3-pentanol, 2,4-dimethyl-1-heptene, 4-methyl-2-heptanone, and 1,1-dichloro-2,4-dimethyl-1-heptane were newly identified intermediates from UV/chlorine reactions of both geosmin and 2-MIB. These intermediates were degraded as the reaction progressed. We proposed possible degradation pathways during the UV photolysis and UV/chlorine reactions of both compounds using the identified intermediates.

In the present Letter, we simulate the propagation of binary signals in semi-infinite, mechanical chains of coupled oscillators harmonically driven at the end, by making use of the recently discovered process of nonlinear supratransmission. Our numerical results-which are based on a brand-new computational technique with energy-invariant properties-show an efficient and reliable transmission of information.

The reactions of O,O-diethyl 2,4-dinitrophenyl phosphate triester (1) with secondary alicyclic (SA) amines in the ionic liquids [Bmim]BF4 and [Bmim]DCA were subjected to a kinetic study. Eyring plots were obtained for the title reactions in the above ionic liquids (ILs) and also in aqueous ethanol (44 wt% ethanol). Two different reaction pathways were observed in [Bmim]BF4: nucleophilic attack at the phosphoryl center, SN2(P), and at the C-1 aromatic carbon, SN(Ar), where the product distribution remained constant and independent of the amine nature. In contrast, in [Bmim]DCA only the SN2(P) pathway was found. From the kinetic analysis of the SN2(P) pathway in both ILs, curved upwards plots of kobsdvs. 1-formylpiperazine concentration were obtained. Based on the kinetic behavior, a change in the mechanism of the SN2(P) pathway is proposed for the aminolysis of 1, from a concerted process in aqueous ethanol to a stepwise mechanism, through a zwitterionic pentacoordinate intermediate, when [Bmim]BF4 and [Bmim]DCA are used as the solvents of the reaction.

Highlights: • M06-2X functional is suitable to model key steps of proline-catalyzed reactions. • Investigation of the proline-catalyzed aldol reactionmechanism. • Influence of water molecules on the C–C bond formation step. • Mechanism for the reaction of proline-derived enamines with benzhydrylium cations. - Abstract: The proline-catalyzed aldol reaction is the seminal example of asymmetric organocatalysis. Previous theoretical and experimental studies aimed at identifying its mechanism in order to rationalize the outcome of this reaction. Here, we focus on key steps with modern first principle methods, i.e. the M06-2X hybrid exchange–correlation functional combined to the solvation density model to account for environmental effects. In particular, different pathways leading to the formation of neutral and negatively charged enamine intermediates are investigated, and their reactivity towards two electrophiles, i.e. an aldehyde and a benzhydrylium cation, are compared. Regarding the self-aldol reaction, our calculations confirm that the neutral enamine intermediate is more reactive than the negatively charged one. For the reaction with benzhydrylium cations however, the negatively charged enamine intermediate is more reactive.

We present a combination of the string method and a path collective variable for the exploration of the free energy surface associated to a chemical reaction in condensed environments. The on-the-fly string method is employed to find the minimum free energy paths on a multidimensional free energy surface defined in terms of interatomic distances, which is a convenient selection to study bond forming/breaking processes. Once the paths have been determined, a reaction coordinate is defined as a measure of the advance of the system along these paths. This reaction coordinate can be then used to trace the reaction Potential of Mean Force from which the activation free energy can be obtained. This combination of methodologies has been here applied to the study, by means of Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics simulations, of the reaction catalyzed by guanidinoacetate methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyzes the methylation of guanidinoacetate by S-adenosyl-l-methionine, a reaction that involves a methyl transfer and a proton transfer and for which different reactionmechanisms have been proposed.

Full Text Available This paper has considered a novel approach to structural recognition and control of nonlinearreaction-diffusion systems (systems with density dependent diffusion. The main consistence of the approach is interactive variation of the nonlinear diffusion and sources structural parameters that allows to implement a qualitative control and recognition of transitional system conditions (transients. The method of inverse solutions construction allows formulating the new analytic conditions of compactness and periodicity of the transients that is also available for nonintegrated systems. On the other hand, using of energy conservations laws, allows transfer to nonlinear dynamics models that gives the possiblity to apply the modern deterministic chaos theory (particularly the Feigenboum's universal constants and scenario of chaotic transitions.

In this study, a new kinetic model for methanol to light olefins (MTO) reactions over a hierarchical SAPO-34 catalyst using the Langmuir–Hinshelwood–Hougen–Watson (LHHW) mechanism was presented and the kinetic parameters was obtained using a genetic algorithm (GA) and genetic programming (GP). Several kinetic models for the MTO reactions have been presented. However, due to the complexity of the reactions, most reactions are considered lumped and elementary, which cannot be deemed a completely accurate kinetic model of the process. Therefore, in this study, the LHHW mechanism is presented as kinetic models of MTO reactions. Because of the non-linearity of the kinetic models and existence of many local optimal points, evolutionary algorithms (GA and GP) are used in this study to estimate the kinetic parameters in the rate equations. Via the simultaneous connection of the code related to modelling the reactor and the GA and GP codes in the MATLAB R2013a software, optimization of the kinetic models parameters was performed such that the least difference between the results from the kinetic models and experiential results was obtained and the best kinetic parameters of MTO process reactions were achieved. A comparison of the results from the model with experiential results showed that the present model possesses good accuracy.

In this study, a new kinetic model for methanol to light olefins (MTO) reactions over a hierarchical SAPO-34 catalyst using the Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) mechanism was presented and the kinetic parameters was obtained using a genetic algorithm (GA) and genetic programming (GP). Several kinetic models for the MTO reactions have been presented. However, due to the complexity of the reactions, most reactions are considered lumped and elementary, which cannot be deemed a completely accurate kinetic model of the process. Therefore, in this study, the LHHW mechanism is presented as kinetic models of MTO reactions. Because of the non-linearity of the kinetic models and existence of many local optimal points, evolutionary algorithms (GA and GP) are used in this study to estimate the kinetic parameters in the rate equations. Via the simultaneous connection of the code related to modelling the reactor and the GA and GP codes in the MATLAB R2013a software, optimization of the kinetic models parameters was performed such that the least difference between the results from the kinetic models and experiential results was obtained and the best kinetic parameters of MTO process reactions were achieved. A comparison of the results from the model with experiential results showed that the present model possesses good accuracy.

The reaction pathway as well as the mechanism of the solid state reaction between MgH2 and AlCl3 has been a mystery so far. Based on SEM, TEM and NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) analyses, an amorphous intermediate (AlH6)n was preferentially formed and recrystallized as a γ phase at the final stage of the reaction. As a novel finding, this research provides a deep insight into the process and mechanism of this mechanically activated reaction.

The bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN 2) reaction of CH3 F + OH(-) in aqueous solution was investigated using a combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanics approach. Reactant complex, transition state, and product complex along the reaction pathway were analyzed in water. The potentials of mean force were calculated using a multilayered representation with the DFT and CCSD(T) level of theory for the reactive region. The obtained free energy activation barrier for this reaction at the CCSD(T)/MM representation is 18.3 kcal/mol which agrees well with the experimental value at ∼21.6 kcal/mol. Both the solvation effect and solute polarization effect play key roles on raising the activation barrier height in aqueous solution, with the former raising the barrier height by 3.1 kcal/mol, the latter 1.5 kcal/mol.

A DFT computational mechanistic study of the [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization of a diyne with benzonitrile, catalyzed by a cobalt complex, has been carried out. Three alternative catalytic cycles have been examined together with the precatalytic step (responsible for the induction period). The favored mechanism takes place by means of an intramolecular metal-assisted [4+2] cycloaddition. The beneficial role of microwave activation has been studied. It is concluded that microwave irradiation can decrease the catalytic induction period through thermal effects and can also increase the triplet lifetime and promote the reaction, thus improving the final yield.

The Cl(-) + CH3I → CH3Cl + I(-) reaction in water was studied using combined multi-level quantum mechanism theories and molecular mechanics with an explicit water solvent model. The study shows a significant influence of aqueous solution on the structures of the stationary points along the reaction pathway. A detailed, atomic-level evolution of the reactionmechanism shows a concerted one-bond-broken and one-bond-formed mechanism, as well as a synchronized charge-transfer process. The potentials of mean force calculations with the CCSD(T) and DFT treatments of the solute produce a free activation barrier at 24.5 kcal/mol and 19.0 kcal/mol respectively, which agrees with the experimental one at 22.0 kcal/mol. The solvent effects have also been quantitatively analyzed: in total, the solvent effects raise the activation energy by 20.2 kcal/mol, which shows a significant impact on this reaction in water.

The capacity, Coulombic efficiency, rate, and cyclability of a Li-O2 battery critically depend on the electrode reactionmechanism and the structure/morphology of the reaction product as well as their spatial and temporal evolution1-8, which are all further complicated by the choice of different electrolyte. For the case of aprotic cell, the discharge product, Li2O2, is formed through solution and surface mechanisms9,10, but little is known on the formation mechanism of the perplexing morphology of the reaction product11-15. For the case of Li-O2 battery using solid electrolyte, neither electrode reactionmechanism nor the nature of the reaction production is known. Herein, we reveal the full cycle reaction pathway for Li-O2 batteries and its correlation with the nature of the reaction product. Using an aberration-corrected environmental TEM under oxygen environment, we captured, for the first time, the morphology and phase evolution on the carbon nanotube (CNT) cathode of a working solid-state Li-O2 nano-battery16 and directly correlated these features with electrochemical reaction. We found that the oxygen reduction reaction on CNTs initially produces LiO2, which subsequently evolves to Li2O2 and O2 through disproportionation reaction. Surprisingly it is just the releasing of O2 that inflates the particles to a hollow structure with a Li2O outer surface layer and Li2O2 inner-shell, demonstrating that, in general, accommodation of the released O2 coupled with the Li+ ion diffusion and electron transport paths across both spatial and temporal scales critically governs the morphology of the discharging/charging product in Li-O2 system. We anticipate that the direct observation of Li-O2 reactionmechanisms and their correlation with the morphology of the reaction product set foundation for quantitative understanding/modeling of the electrochemical processes in the Li-O2 system, enabling rational design of both solid-state and aprotic Li-O2 batteries.

Describes a course in nonlinear mathematics courses offered at the University of Pennsylvania which provides an opportunity for students to examine the complex solution spaces that chemical engineers encounter. Topics include modeling many chemical processes, especially those involving reaction and diffusion, auto catalytic reactions, phase…

Scaling arguments imply that quantum-critical points exhibit universal nonlinear responses to external probes. We investigate the origins of such nonlinearities in transport, which is especially problematic since the system is necessarily driven far from equilibrium. We argue that for a wide class of systems the new ingredient that enters is the Schwinger mechanism--the production of carriers from the vacuum by the applied field--which is then balanced against a scattering rate that is itself set by the field. We show by explicit computation how this works for the case of the symmetric superfluid-Mott insulator transition of bosons.

For micro-speakers in a closed box, commonly used nonlinear compensation methods only compensate the distortion caused by the force factor and the stiffness. In this letter, a method to compensate the distortion with consideration of the nonlinearmechanical resistance is proposed based on the feedback linearization criterion. The proposed method is further improved by minimizing the variation of the output power spectrum after compensation. The simulations and experiments show that the total harmonic distortion and the intermodulation distortion of the sound pressure can be reduced significantly with little influence on the sound pressure level.

Experimental data on the cross sections for channels of fusion and transfer reactions induced by beams of radioactive halo nuclei and clustered and stable loosely bound nuclei were analyzed, and the results of this analysis were summarized. The interplay of the excitation of single-particle states in reaction-product nuclei and direct reaction channels was established for transfer reactions. Respective experiments were performed in stable (6Li) and radioactive (6He) beams of the DRIBs accelerator complex at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, and in deuteron and 3He beams of the U-120M cyclotron at the Nuclear Physics Institute, Academy Sciences of Czech Republic (Řež and Prague, Czech Republic). Data on subbarrier and near-barrier fusion reactions involving clustered and loosely bound light nuclei (6Li and 3He) can be described quite reliably within simple evaporation models with allowance for different reaction Q-values and couple channels. In reactions involving halo nuclei, their structure manifests itself most strongly in the region of energies below the Coulomb barrier. Neutron transfer occurs with a high probability in the interactions of all loosely bound nuclei with light and heavy stable nuclei at positive Q-values. The cross sections for such reactions and the respective isomeric ratios differ drastically for nucleon stripping and nucleon pickup mechanisms. This is due to the difference in the population probabilities for excited single-particle states.

During the past 15 years, the NOCO reaction on Rh has attracted considerable attention of the researchers working in academic and applied surface science. The practical importance of this reaction is connected with its relevance for environmental chemistry. From the point of view of academic studies, the NOCO reaction on Rh is of interest because it represents one of the simplest examples from the class of catalytic reactions occurring via decomposition of adsorbed species. At present, the detailed kinetic data for this reaction are available both for single-crystal and supported Rh, at ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions and also at realistic pressures. For this reason, the NOCO reaction on Rh has become one of the major testing platforms for a microscopic, surface-science based approach to heterogeneous catalysis. The present review shows how far the progress in this field has come. In particular, the review describes in detail the evolution of the ideas for the mechanism of the reaction and also presents the data for the elementary reaction steps, obtained primarily on Rh(1 1 1) at UHV conditions. Then, the possibility of using these data for simulation of the reaction kinetics at moderate pressures, P NO ⋍ P CO ⋍ 0.01 bar, is discussed. The technological aspects of application of Rh in the automotive exhaust systems are surveyed as well, but only briefly.

, several aldehydes and ketones and many different organic acids and aromatic compounds may be generated during hydrothermal treatment of lignocellulosic biomass. The reactionmechanisms are of interest because the very same compounds that are possible inhibitors for biomass processing enzymes......The degradation compounds formed during pretreatment when lignocellulosic biomass is processed to ethanol or other biorefinery products include furans, phenolics, organic acids, as well as mono- and oligomeric pentoses and hexoses. Depending on the reaction conditions glucose can be converted to 5...... and microorganisms may be valuable biobased chemicals. Hence a new potential for industrial scale synthesis of chemicals has emerged. A better understanding of the reactionmechanisms and the impact of the reaction conditions on the product formation is thus a prerequisite for designing better biomass processing...

Augmenting leachate before recirculation with peroxidase enzymes is a novel method to increase the available carbon, and therefore the food supply to microorganisms at the declining phase of the anaerobic landfill bioreactor operation. In order to optimize the enzyme-catalyzed leachate recirculation process, it is necessary to identify the reactionmechanisms and determine rate constants. This paper presents a kinetic model developed to ascertain the reactionmechanisms and determine the rate constants for enzyme catalyzed anaerobic waste degradation. The maximum rate of reaction (Vmax) for MnP enzyme-catalyzed reactors was 0.076 g(TOC)/g(DS).day. The catalytic turnover number (k(cat)) of the MnP enzyme-catalyzed was 506.7 per day while the rate constant (k) of the un-catalyzed reaction was 0.012 per day.

Understanding the mechanisms of chemical reactions, especially catalysis, has been an important and active area of computational organic chemistry, and close collaborations between experimentalists and theorists represent a growing trend. This Perspective provides examples of such productive collaborations. The understanding of various reactionmechanisms and the insight gained from these studies are emphasized. The applications of various experimental techniques in elucidation of reaction details as well as the development of various computational techniques to meet the demand of emerging synthetic methods, e.g., C-H activation, organocatalysis, and single electron transfer, are presented along with some conventional developments of mechanistic aspects. Examples of applications are selected to demonstrate the advantages and limitations of these techniques. Some challenges in the mechanistic studies and predictions of reactions are also analyzed.

Thom's catastrophe theory applied to the evolution of the topology of the electron localization function (ELF) gradient field constitutes a way to rationalize the reorganization of electron pairing and a powerful tool for the unambiguous determination of the molecular mechanisms of a given chemical reaction. The identification of the turning points connecting the ELF structural stability domains along the reaction pathway allows a rigorous characterization of the sequence of electron pair rearrangements taking place during a chemical transformation, such as multiple bond forming/breaking processes, ring closure processes, creation/annihilation of lone pairs, transformations of C-C multiple bonds into single ones. The reactionmechanism of some relevant organic reactions: Diels-Alder, 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and Cope rearrangement are reviewed to illustrate the potential of the present approach.

The reactionmechanism of (CH3)3CO(.) radical with NO is theoretically investigated at the B3LYP/6-31G* level. The results show that the reaction is multi-channel in the single state and triplet state. The potential energy surfaces of reaction paths in the single state are lower than that in the triple state. The balance reaction: (CH3)3CONO←→ (CH3)3CO(.)+NO, whose potential energy surface is the lowest in all the reaction paths, makes the probability of measuring (CH3)3CO(.) radical increase. So NO may be considered as a stabilizing reagent for the (CH3)3CO(.)radical.

Full Text Available The mechanism of S+O4 (D2h reaction has been investigated at the B3LYP/6-311+G(3df and CCSD levels on the singlet potential energy surface. One stable complex has been found for the S+O4 (D2h reaction, IN1, on the singlet potential energy surface. For the title reaction, we obtained four kinds of products at the B3LYP level, which have enough thermodynamic stability. The results reveal that the product P3 is spontaneous and exothermic with −188.042 and −179.147 kcal/mol in Gibbs free energy and enthalpy of reaction, respectively. Because P1 adduct is produced after passing two low energy level transition states, kinetically, it is the most favorable adduct in the 1S+1O4 (D2h atmospheric reactions.

The mechanism for the OH + 3-methylfuran reaction has been studied via ab initio calculations to investigate various reaction pathways on the doublet potential energy surface. Optimizations of the reactants, products, intermediates, and transition structures are conducted using the MP2 level of theory with the 6-311G(d,p) basis set. The single-point electronic energy of each optimized geometry is refined with G3MP2 and G3MP2B3 calculations. The theoretical study suggests that the OH + 3-methylfuran reaction is dominated by the formation of HC(O)CH dbond C(CH3)CHOH (P7) and CH(OH)CH dbond C(CH3)C(O)H (P9), formed from two low-lying adducts, IM1 and IM2. The direct hydrogen abstraction pathways and the SN2 reaction may play a minor or negligible role in the overall reaction of OH with 3-methylfuran.

The study of the nonlinear dynamics of electrostatically actuated MEMS devices is essential for proper device operation and for the actual exploitation of the dynamic aspects of MEMS. Accurate static and dynamic models and nonlinear analysis provide the tools to achieve a better understanding of the

It is shown how artificial neural networks can be trained to predict dynamic response of a simple nonlinear structure. Data generated using a nonlinear finite element model of a simplified wind turbine is used to train a one layer artificial neural network. When trained properly the network is able...

The conversion of methanol to olefins (MTO) over a heterogeneous nanoporous catalyst material is a highly complex process involving a cascade of elementary reactions. The elucidation of the reactionmechanisms leading to either the desired production of ethene and/or propene or undesired deactivation has challenged researchers for many decades. Clearly, catalyst choice, in particular topology and acidity, as well as the specific process conditions determine the overall MTO activity and selectivity; however, the subtle balances between these factors remain not fully understood. In this review, an overview of proposed reactionmechanisms for the MTO process is given, focusing on the archetypal MTO catalysts, H-ZSM-5 and H-SAPO-34. The presence of organic species, that is, the so-called hydrocarbon pool, in the inorganic framework forms the starting point for the majority of the mechanistic routes. The combination of theory and experiment enables a detailed description of reactionmechanisms and corresponding reaction intermediates. The identification of such intermediates occurs by different spectroscopic techniques, for which theory and experiment also complement each other. Depending on the catalyst topology, reactionmechanisms proposed thus far involve aromatic or aliphatic intermediates. Ab initio simulations taking into account the zeolitic environment can nowadays be used to obtain reliable reaction barriers and chemical kinetics of individual reactions. As a result, computational chemistry and by extension computational spectroscopy have matured to the level at which reliable theoretical data can be obtained, supplying information that is very hard to acquire experimentally. Special emphasis is given to theoretical developments that open new perspectives and possibilities that aid to unravel a process as complex as methanol conversion over an acidic porous material.

The structure of copper sites in Cu-SSZ-13 during NH3-SCR was unravelled by a combination of novel operando X-ray spectroscopic techniques. Strong adsorption of NH3 on Cu, its reaction with weakly adsorbed NO from the gas phase, and slow re-oxidation of Cu(I) were proven. Thereby the SCR reactionmechanism is significantly different to that observed for Fe-ZSM-5.

Reactions to memorable experiences of sad music were studied by means of a survey administered to a convenience (N = 1577), representative (N = 445), and quota sample (N = 414). The survey explored the reasons, mechanisms, and emotions of such experiences. Memorable experiences linked with sad music typically occurred in relation to extremely familiar music, caused intense and pleasurable experiences, which were accompanied by physiological reactions and positive mood changes in about a third...

Full Text Available The piles cap is an important structural element whose function is to transfer the actions of the superstructure for a group of piles. The visual inspection of the piles cap behavior under service conditions is not possible and, in addition, the knowledge of its actual structural performance is a vital necessity for the constructions overall stability. In this paper, a two-dimensional nonlinear analysis is carried out, by means of Finite Element Method, of a reinforced concrete pile caps with two piles found in the literature. It adopts for the material concrete a constitutive model based on the Continuum Damage Mechanics, with the possibility to provide a tensile and compression differentiated behavior. The steel is described by an elastoplastic bilinear model. The equilibrium path is achieved by Arc Length iteration technique in association with the Newton - Raphson Method. The numerical results obtained with the developed computational code are compared with the available experimental and numerical results and the analytical solution, and have the objective of evaluate the potential of the proposed modeling as an investigation numerical tool to determine the rupture force and the damage distribution in the piles cap.

A typical CO2 sequestration scenario involves the use of multiple simulators for addressing multiphase fluid and heat flow, water-rock interaction and mass-transfer, rock mechanics, and other chemical and physical processes. The benefit of such workflow is that each model can be constrained rigorously; however, the drawback is final modeling results may achieve only a limited extent of the theoretically possible capabilities of each model. Furthermore, such an approach in modeling carbon sequestration cannot capture the nonlinearity of the various chemical and physical processes. Hence, the models can only provide guidelines for carbon sequestration processes with large margins of error. As an alternative, a simulator is being constructed by a multi-disciplinary team with the aim of implementing a large array of fundamental phenomenologies, including, but not limited to: water-rock interaction using elemental mass-balance and explicit mass-transfer and reaction coupling methods; multi-phase and heat flow, including super-critical CO2 and oil; fracture mechanics with anisotropic permeabilities; rheological rock mechanics based on incremental stress theory; and a composite petrophysics model capable of describing changing rock composition and properties. The modules representing the processes will be solved using a layered iteration method, with the goal of capturing the nonlinear feedback among all of the processes. The simulator will be constructed using proven optimization and modular, object-oriented, and service-oriented programming methods. Finally, a novel AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) user interface is being tested to host the simulator that will allow usage through an Internet browser. Currently, the water-rock interaction, composite petrophysics, and multi-phase fluid and heat flow modules are available for integration. Results of the water-rock interaction and petrophysics coupling has been used to model interaction between a CO2-charged water and

Nonlinear optical effects provide a natural way of light manipulation and interaction and form the foundation of applied photonics, from high-speed signal processing and telecommunication to ultrahigh-bandwidth interconnects and information processing. However, relatively weak nonlinear response at optical frequencies calls for operation at high optical powers or boosting efficiency of nonlinear parametric processes by enhancing local-field intensity with high-quality-factor resonators near cavity resonance, resulting in reduced operational bandwidth and increased loss due to multiphoton absorption. We present an alternative to this conventional approach, with strong nonlinear optical effects at low local intensities, based on period-doubling bifurcations near nonlinear cavity antiresonance and apply it to low-power optical frequency comb generation in a silicon chip.

Nonlinear optical effects provide a natural way of light manipulation and interaction, and form the foundation of applied photonics -- from high-speed signal processing and telecommunication, to ultra-high bandwidth interconnects and information processing. However, relatively weak nonlinear response at optical frequencies calls for operation at high optical powers, or boosting efficiency of nonlinear parametric processes by enhancing local field intensity with high quality-factor resonators near cavity resonance, resulting in reduced operational bandwidth and increased loss due to multi-photon absorption. Here, we present an alternative to this conventional approach, with strong nonlinear optical effects at substantially lower local intensities, based on period-doubling bifurcations near nonlinear cavity anti-resonance, and apply it to low-power optical comb generation in a silicon chip.

Modelling of the structure and the limiting flow turning angles of an oblique detonation wave, established by a two-dimensional wedge, requires the implementation of detailed chemical kinetic models involving a large number of chemical species. In this paper, a method of reducing the computational effort involved in simulating such high-speed reacting flows by implementing a systematically reduced reactionmechanism is presented. For a hydrogen - air mixture, starting with an elementary mechanism having eight species in 12 reactions, three alternate four-step reduced reactionmechanisms are developed by introducing the steady-state approximation for the reaction intermediates HO2, O and OH, respectively. Additional reduction of the computational effort is achieved by introducing simplifications to the thermochemical data evaluations. The influence of the numerical grid used in predicting the induction process behind the shock is also investigated. Comparisons of the induction zone predicted by two-dimensional oblique detonation wave calculations with that of a static reactor model (with initial conditions of the gas mixture specified by those behind the nonreactive oblique shock wave) are also presented. The reasonably good agreement between the three four-step reduced mechanism predictions and the starting mechanism predictions indicates that further reduction to a two-step mechanism is feasible for the physical flow time scales (corresponding to inflow Mach numbers of 8 - 10) considered here, and needs to be pursued in the future.

Low-velocity drop-weight impact experiments on individual and multiple Cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX) energetic particles were performed using a modified drop-weight machine equipped with high-speed photography components. Multiple particles experienced more severe burning reactions than an individual particle. Comparisons between impacted salt and HMX particle show that jetting in HMX is mainly due to the motion of fragmented particles driven by gaseous reaction products. Velocity of jetting, flame propagation, and area expansion were measured via image processing, making it possible to quantify the chemical reaction or mechanical deformation violence at different stages.

The reaction system (NH4)3VS4/CuCl/PPh3/Et4NBr afforded a series of [VS4-Cun] dusters with various core configurations in the solid state at low heating temperature. The structural regularity of [VS4-Cun] dusters and the influence of the CuCl:(NH4)3VS4 ratio as well as that of reaction temperature and time on the formation of duster core have been summarized. The reactionmechanism of forming V-Cu-S clusters has also been explored.

Ab initio method, under the effective core potential(ECP) approximation at HF/LANL2DZ level, has been employed to study the reactionmechanism of the carbonyl insertion of olefin hydroformylation catalyzed by a carbonyl cobalt HCo(CO)3. The two reaction paths have been discussed. The calculated potential energy barriers for the carbonyl migration and the ethyl group migration are 105.0 kJ/mol and 39.17 kJ/mol, respectively. The results indicate that the reaction path via ethyl migration is more energetically favorable than that via carbonyl insertion.

Exploring and highlighting the new horizons in the studies of reactionmechanisms that open joint application of experimental studies and theoretical calculations is the goal of this book. The latest insights and developments in the mechanistic studies of organometallic reactions and catalytic processes are presented and reviewed. The book adopts a unique approach, exemplifying how to use experiments, spectroscopy measurements, and computational methods to reveal reaction pathways and molecular structures of catalysts, rather than concentrating solely on one discipline. The result is a deeper

Statistical mechanical modeling is developed to describe a catalytic conversion reaction A →Bc or Bt with concentration-dependent selectivity of the products, Bc or Bt, where reaction occurs inside catalytic particles traversed by narrow linear nanopores. The associated restricted diffusive transport, which in the extreme case is described by single-file diffusion, naturally induces strong concentration gradients. Furthermore, by comparing kinetic Monte Carlo simulation results with analytic treatments, selectivity is shown to be impacted by strong spatial correlations induced by restricted diffusivity in the presence of reaction and also by a subtle clustering of reactants, A .

The mechanism models for primary organic reactions encoding the structural fragments undergoing substitution, addition, elimination, and rearrangements are developed. In the proposed models, each and every structural component of mechanistic pathways is represented with flexible and fragment based markup technique in XML syntax. A significant feature of the system is the encoding of the electron movements along with the other components like charges, partial charges, half bonded species, lone pair electrons, free radicals, reaction arrows, etc. needed for a complete representation of reactionmechanism. The rendering of reaction schemes described with the proposed methodology is achieved with a concise XML extension language interoperating with the structure markup. The reaction scheme is visualized as 2D graphics in a browser by converting them into SVG documents enabling the desired layouts normally perceived by the chemists conventionally. An automatic representation of the complex patterns of the reactionmechanism is achieved by reusing the knowledge in chemical ontologies and developing artificial intelligence components in terms of axioms.

In order to elucidate the reactionmechanisms of reaction Sc+ with propargyl alcohol(PPA),the triplet potential energy surface for the reactions has been theoretically investigated using a DFT method.The geometries for the reactants,intermediates,transition states and products were completely optimized at B3LYP/DZVP level.The single point energy of each stationary point was calculated at MP4/(6-311+G** for C,H,O and Lanl2dz for Sc+)level.All the transition states were verified by the vibrational analysis and the internal reaction coordinate(IRC)calculations.The present results show that the reaction takes an insertion-elimination mechanism both along the O-H and C-O bond activation branches,but the C-O bond activation is much more favorable in energy than the O-H bond activation.All theoretical results not only support the existing conclusions inferred from early experiment,but also complement the pathway and mechanism for this reaction.

The intrinsic reactivity of cyanide when interacting with a silver cation was rationalized using the dual descriptor (DD) as a complement to the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) in order to predict interactions at the local level. It was found that DD accurately explains covalent interactions that cannot be explained by MEP, which focuses on essentially ionic interactions. This allowed the rationalization of the reactionmechanism that yields silver cyanide in the gas phase. Other similar reactionmechanisms involving a silver cation interacting with water, ammonia, and thiosulfate were also explained by the combination of MEP and DD. This analysis provides another example of the usefulness of DD as a tool for gaining a deeper understanding of any reactionmechanism that is mainly governed by covalent interactions.

Synthesis of boron-carbon-nitride (BCN) hybrid alloys has been attempted extensively by many researchers because the BCN alloys are considered an extremely hard material called {open_quotes}super diamond,{close_quotes} and the industrial application for wear-resistant materials is promising. A mechanical alloying (MA) method of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with graphite has recently been studied to explore the industrial synthesis of the BCN alloys. To develop the MA method for the BCN alloy synthesis, it is necessary to confirm the chemical reaction processes in the mechanical milling systems and to identify the reaction products. Therefore, the authors have attempted to confirm the chemical reaction process of the h-BN and graphite in mechanical milling systems using x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) methods.

In this paper, a nonlinear multi-scale interaction (NMI) model is used to propose an eddy-blocking matching (EBM) mechanism to account for how synoptic eddies reinforce or suppress a blocking flow. It is shown that the spatial structure of the eddy vorticity forcing (EVF) arising from upstream synoptic eddies determines whether an incipient block can grow into a meandering blocking flow through its interaction with the transient synoptic eddies from the west. Under certain conditions, the EVF exhibits a low-frequency oscillation on timescales of 2-3 weeks. During the EVF phase with a negative-over- positive dipole structure, a blocking event can be resonantly excited through the transport of eddy energy into the incipient block by the EVF. As the EVF changes into an opposite phase, the blocking decays. The NMI model produces life cycles of blocking events that resemble observations. Moreover, it is shown that the eddy north-south straining is a response of the eddies to a dipole- or Ω-type block. In our model, as in observations, two synoptic anticyclones (cyclones) can attract and merge with one another as the blocking intensifies, but only when the feedback of the blocking on the eddies is included. Thus, we attribute the eddy straining and associated vortex interaction to the feedback of the intensified blocking on synoptic eddies. The results illustrate the concomitant nature of the eddy deformation, whose role as a PV source for the blocking flow becomes important only during the mature stage of a block. Our EBM mechanism suggests that an incipient block flow is amplified (or suppressed) under certain conditions by the EVF coming from the upstream of the blocking region.

On the basis of the first-order shear deformation plate theory and the zig-zag deformation assumption, an incremental finite element formulation for nonlinear buckling analysis of the composite sandwich plate is deduced and the temperature-dependent thermal and mechanical properties of composite is considered. A finite element method for thermal or thermo-mechanical coupling nonlinear buckling analysis of the composite sandwich plate with an interfacial crack damage between face and core is also developed. Numerical results and discussions concerning some typical examples show that the effects of the variation of the thermal and mechanical properties with temperature, extermal compressive loading, size of the damage zone and piy angle of the faces on the thermal buckling behavior are significant.

The CH3Cl + CN(-) reaction in water was studied using a multilevel quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (MM) method with the multilevels, electrostatic potential, density functional theory (DFT) and coupled-cluster single double triple (CCSD(T)), for the solute region. The detailed, back-side attack SN2 reactionmechanism was mapped along the reaction pathway. The potentials of mean force were calculated under both the DFT and CCSD(T) levels for the reaction region. The CCSD(T)/MM level of theory presents a free energy activation barrier height at 20.3 kcal/mol, which agrees very well with the experiment value at 21.6 kcal/mol. The results show that the aqueous solution has a dominant role in shaping the potential of mean force. The solvation effect and the polarization effect together increase the activation barrier height by ∼11.4 kcal/mol: the solvation effect plays a major role by providing about 75% of the contribution, while polarization effect only contributes 25% to the activation barrier height. Our calculated potential of mean force under the CCSD(T)/MM also has a good agreement with the one estimated using data from previous gas-phase studies.

Alloys of transition metal suicides that contain one or more alloying elements are fabricated by a two-stage process involving mechanical activation as the first stage and densification and field-activated reaction as the second stage. Mechanical activation, preferably performed by high-energy planetary milling, results in the incorporation of atoms of the alloying element(s) into the crystal lattice of the transition metal, while the densification and field-activated reaction, preferably performed by spark plasma sintering, result in the formation of the alloyed transition metal silicide. Among the many advantages of the process are its ability to accommodate materials that are incompatible in other alloying methods.

This article reports on detailed calculations on the reaction kinetics in APC flames on the basis of a wide set of possible reactions and experimental data on the initial composition of the gas mixture (gasification products from APC). The purpose is to select the most important reactions in this system by comparing the calculations on the kinetics with experimental data on the concentration profiles in APC flames. Discusses kinetic equations; rate constants as the reactionmechanism; results from kinetic calculations; and identification of major stages. A laminar flame such as that provided by ammonium perchlorate is described in general form by a system of differential equations that incorporate the transport of heat and matter in the presence of chemical reactions. APC is a system consisting of 4 elements (N,H,Cl and O). Points out that the scheme enables one to determine which reactions are responsible for producing the final products. Suggests that in the future one will be able to analyze experimental data on the reaction-rate profiles for stable components in order to determine either the atom and radical concentrations or the rate constants of the reactions involving them.

The potential energy surface(PES) for the reaction of Cl atom with HCOOH is predicted using ab initio molecular orbital calculation methods at UQCIDS(T,full)6-311++G(3df,2p)//UMP2(full)/6-311+G(d,P) level of theory with zero-point vibrational energy (ZPVE) correction.The calculated results show that the reactionmechanism of Cl atom with formic acid is a C-site hydrogen abstraction reaction from cis-HOC(H)O molecule by Cl atom with a 3.73kJ/mol reaction barrier height,leading to the formation of cis-HOCO radical which will reacts with Cl atom or other molecules in such a reaction system.Because the reaction barrier height of O-site hydrogen abstraction reaction from cis-HOC(H)O molecule by Cl atom which leads to the formation of HCO2 radical is 67.95kJ/mol,it is a secondary reaction channel in experiment,This is in good agreement with the prediction based on the previous experiments.

The application of band mechanisms offers a wide range of possibilities in designing concepts of modern guide mechanisms. The applied belt pulleys are designed as continuous convex cam disks and allow the application of different transmission functions. A large number of transmission functions can be generated with convex curve shapes. It takes a great deal of effort to determine the correct pulley curve and is difficult for engineers without special knowledge to calculate. The syntheses process of a nonlinear band mechanism is based on the relationships between the evolute and evolvente [1]. The evolute corresponds to the pulley curve and the evolvente corresponds, for example, to the curve of the fix point of a rocker arm. By applying this method in relation with the reverse kinematics and the maintenance of total band length, allowing to generate band mechanism with required curve of transmission ratio. Beside the comments of band mechanism construction and the mathematical method of resolution—the first part of the article explains a simple four bar mechanism of couch chest the total gravity force balance with band mechanism. Therefore, the essential computing steps and limits of the solving process will be explained. With this it is possible to calculate the nonlinear transmission ratio of band mechanism with consideration of elastic band properties and inertia of bodies.

Many open questions regarding the study of reactionmechanisms with heavy ions have still to be solved, even in the energetic range between 5 and 20 MeV/u, which is covered by the accelerating system Tandem XTU--Linac ALPI of the Laboratori Nazionali of Legnaro. Using complex apparatuses like GARFIELD, coupled with different ancillary detectors, it is possible to perform exclusive measurements, which should be capable of giving new important information, in order to better understand both nuclear structure problems, like for example the study of the mechanisms underlying the Giant Dipole Resonance Damping, and reactionmechanisms phenomena, like the characterization of those mechanisms which are responsible for the many-fragment emission. Preliminary results and future plans to be performed with the GARFIELD facility have been described.

In the energetic range between 5 and 20 MeV/n, which is covered by the accelerating system Tandem XTU - Linac ALPI of the Laboratori Nazionali of Legnaro, many open questions regarding the study of reactionmechanisms with heavy ions have still to be solved. Using complex apparatuses like GARFIELD coupled with different ancillary detectors, it is possible to perform exclusive measurements, which are necessary to get new important information. This will bring to a better understanding both on nuclear structure problems, like for example the study of the mechanisms underlying the Giant Dipole Resonance Damping, and on reactionmechanisms phenomena, like the characterization of those mechanisms, which are responsible for the many-fragment emission. Preliminary results and plans to be performed with the GARFIELD facility have been described.

Stereo-specific reactionmechanisms play a fundamental role in chemistry. The back-side attack inversion and front-side attack retention pathways of the bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN2) reactions are the textbook examples for stereo-specific chemical processes. Here, we report an accurate global analytic potential energy surface (PES) for the F(-)+CH₃Cl SN2 reaction, which describes both the back-side and front-side attack substitution pathways as well as the proton-abstraction channel. Moreover, reaction dynamics simulations on this surface reveal a novel double-inversion mechanism, in which an abstraction-induced inversion via a FH···CH₂Cl(-) transition state is followed by a second inversion via the usual [F···CH₃···Cl](-) saddle point, thereby opening a lower energy reaction path for retention than the front-side attack. Quasi-classical trajectory computations for the F(-)+CH₃Cl(ν1=0, 1) reactions show that the front-side attack is a fast direct, whereas the double inversion is a slow indirect process.

The degradation compounds formed during pretreatment when lignocellulosic biomass is processed to ethanol or other biorefinery products include furans, phenolics, organic acids, as well as mono- and oligomeric pentoses and hexoses. Depending on the reaction conditions glucose can be converted to 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde (HMF) and/or levulinic acid, formic acid and different phenolics at elevated temperatures. Correspondingly, xylose can follow different reactionmechanisms resulting in the formation of furan-2-carbaldehyde (furfural) and/or various C-1 and C-4 compounds. At least four routes for the formation of HMF from glucose and three routes for furfural formation from xylose are possible. In addition, new findings show that biomass monosaccharides themselves can react further to form pseudo-lignin and humins as well as a wide array of other compounds when exposed to high temperatures. Hence, several aldehydes and ketones and many different organic acids and aromatic compounds may be generated during hydrothermal treatment of lignocellulosic biomass. The reactionmechanisms are of interest because the very same compounds that are possible inhibitors for biomass processing enzymes and microorganisms may be valuable biobased chemicals. Hence a new potential for industrial scale synthesis of chemicals has emerged. A better understanding of the reactionmechanisms and the impact of the reaction conditions on the product formation is thus a prerequisite for designing better biomass processing strategies and forms an important basis for the development of new biorefinery products from lignocellulosic biomass as well.

The reactionmechanism for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide by N,N-dimethylbenzylamine diselenide, its selenol analogue, and the charged analogues of the diselenide and selenol are elucidated using reliable electronic structure techniques. It is found that the reaction using the diselenide has a large Gibbs energy barrier of 173.5 kJ/mol. The cationic diselenide, with both amines protonated, shows a lower barrier of 103.5 kJ/mol. Both diselenide species show significant Se-Se bond lengthening upon oxidation. An unusual two-step mechanism is found for the selenol with barriers of 136.3 and 141.9 kJ/mol, respectively, showing that it is unlikely that the selenol is the active form. The zwitterion, selenolate, and protonated amine analogues of the selenol show one-step reactions with energy barriers of 82.7, 92.7, and 102.3 kJ/mol, respectively. The zwitterion of the selenol shows the most favorable reaction energies, which is in good agreement with proposed mechanisms for this reaction.

Full Text Available In this article, we consider systems of nonlinear elliptic problems and their relations with minimal sufficient statistics, which is a fundamental tool in classics statistics. This allows us to introduce new experimental tools in quantum physics.

Nonlinear Oscillations is a self-contained and thorough treatment of the vigorous research that has occurred in nonlinearmechanics since 1970. The book begins with fundamental concepts and techniques of analysis and progresses through recent developments and provides an overview that abstracts and introduces main nonlinear phenomena. It treats systems having a single degree of freedom, introducing basic concepts and analytical methods, and extends concepts and methods to systems having degrees of freedom. Most of this material cannot be found in any other text. Nonlinear Oscillations uses sim

The auditory system's ability to interpret sounds over a wide range of amplitudes rests on the nonlinear responsiveness of the ear. Whether measured by basilar-membrane vibration, nerve-fiber activity, or perceived loudness, the ear is most sensitive to small signals and grows progressively less responsive as stimulation becomes stronger. Seeking a correlate of this behavior at the level of mechanoelectrical transduction, we examined the responses of hair bundles to direct mechanical stimulation. As reported by the motion of an attached glass fiber, an active hair bundle from the bullfrog's sacculus oscillates spontaneously. Sinusoidal movement of the fiber's base by as little as +/-1 nm, corresponding to the application at the bundle's top of a force of +/-0.3 pN, causes detectable phase-locking of the bundle's oscillations to the stimulus. Although entrainment increases as the stimulus grows, the amplitude of the hair-bundle movement does not rise until phase-locking is nearly complete. A bundle is most sensitive to stimulation at its frequency of spontaneous oscillation. Far from that frequency, the sensitivity of an active hair bundle resembles that of a passive bundle. Over most of its range, an active hair bundle's response grows as the one-third power of the stimulus amplitude; the bundle's sensitivity declines accordingly in proportion to the negative two-thirds power of the excitation. This scaling behavior, also found in the response of the mammalian basilar membrane to sound, signals the operation of an amplificatory process at the brink of an oscillatory instability, a Hopf bifurcation.

We report the development of a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics free energy perturbation (QM/MM-FEP) method for modeling chemical reactions at metal-water interfaces. This novel solvation scheme combines planewave density function theory (DFT), periodic electrostatic embedded cluster method (PEECM) calculations using Gaussian-type orbitals, and classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to obtain a free energy description of a complex metal-water system. We derive a potential of mean force (PMF) of the reaction system within the QM/MM framework. A fixed-size, finite ensemble of MM conformations is used to permit precise evaluation of the PMF of QM coordinates and its gradient defined within this ensemble. Local conformations of adsorbed reaction moieties are optimized using sequential MD-sampling and QM-optimization steps. An approximate reaction coordinate is constructed using a number of interpolated states and the free energy difference between adjacent states is calculated using the QM/MM-FEP method. By avoiding on-the-fly QM calculations and by circumventing the challenges associated with statistical averaging during MD sampling, a computational speedup of multiple orders of magnitude is realized. The method is systematically validated against the results of ab initio QM calculations and demonstrated for C-C cleavage in double-dehydrogenated ethylene glycol on a Pt (111) model surface.

This book focuses on the latest applications of nonlinear approaches in different disciplines of engineering. For each selected topic, detailed concept development, derivations, and relevant knowledge are provided for the convenience of the readers. The topics range from dynamic systems and control to optimal approaches in nonlinear dynamics. The volume includes invited chapters from world class experts in the field. The selected topics are of great interest in the fields of engineering and physics and this book is ideal for engineers and researchers working in a broad range of practical topics and approaches. This book also: · Explores the most up-to-date applications and underlying principles of nonlinear approaches to problems in engineering and physics, including sections on analytic nonlinearity and practical nonlinearity · Enlightens readers to the conceptual significance of nonlinear approaches with examples of applications in scientific and engineering problems from v...

The degradation pathway of environmental contaminant 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) was investigated computationally at the SMD(Pauling)/M06-2X/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory. The dominant decomposition pathway of TNT → 4,6-dinitro-o-cresol → 4,6-dinitro-2-hydroxybenzylalcohol → 4,6-dinitro-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde was provided, and the corresponding predicted products and their distributions are in a good agreement with available experimental data on TNT degradation by Fenton reaction. It was shown that the mechanism of addition-elimination is crucial for this stage of the reaction. The reaction of H atom abstraction is a minor competing pathway. The details on transition states, intermediate radicals, and free energy surfaces for all proposed reactions are given and make up for a lack of experimental knowledge.

The reactionmechanism of 3-chlorophenol with OH, H inaqueous solution was studied by transient technology. The3-chlorophenol aqueous solutions have been saturated with air or N2previously. Under alkaline condition, the reaction of OH radicalwith 3-chlorophenol produces 3-chlorinated phenoxyl radical, withthe absorption peaks at 400 nm and 417 nm. Under neutral condition,the reaction of OH radical with 3-chlorophenol produces OH-adductwith the maximal absorption at about 340 nm. And in acid solution,the reaction of H with 3-chlorophenol produces H-adduct with themaximal absorption at about 320 nm. 3-chlorophenol is compared with4- and 2-chlorophenols from the free radical pathways. The resultsshow that the positions of chlorine on the aromatic ring stronglyinfluence the dehalogenation and degradation process.

The reaction system of 1-propenyl radical with NO is an ideal model for studying the intermolecu- lax and intramolecular reactions of complex organic free radicals containing C=C double bonds. On the basis of the full optimization of all species with the Gaussian 98 package at the B3LYP/6- 311++G** level, the reactionmechanism was elucidated extensively using the vibrational mode analy- sis. There are seven reaction pathways and five sets of small molecule end products: CH2O+CH3CN, CH2CHCN+H2O, CH3CHO+HCN, CH3CHO+HNC, and CH3CCH+HNO. The channel of C3H5·+NO→IM1→TS1→IM2→TS2→IM3→TS3→CH3CHO+HCN is thermodynamically most favorable.

The reactionmechanism of 3-chlorophenol with OH, H in aqueous solution was studied by transient technology. The 3-chlorophenol aqueous solutions have been saturated with air or N2 previously. Under alkaline condition, the reaction of OH radical with 3-chlorophenol produces 3-chlorinated phenoxyl radical, with the absorption peaks at 400 nm and 417 nm. Under neutral condition, the reaction of OH radical with 3-chlorophenol produces OH-adduct with the maximal absorption at about 340 nm. And in acid solution, the reaction of H with 3-chlorophenol produces H-adduct with the maximal absorption at about 320 nm. 3-chlorophenol is compared with 4-and 2-chlorophenols from the free radical pathways. The results show that the positions of chlorine on the aromatic ring strongly influence the dehalogenation and degradation process.

The reactionmechanism of thiophene on vanadium oxides under FCC operating conditions had been preliminary studied using in-situ FT-IR analysis of thiophene and atmospheric pressure continuous fixed-bed reaction, followed by characterization via pyridine adsorption-temperature programmed desorption method, and FT-IR and XPS spectra. The research had discovered that, under 500C thiophene could undergo the redox reaction with V2O5, while being converted into CO, CO2 as well as SO2 with its conversion rate reaching 41.2%. At the same time the oxidation number of vanadium decreased. The existence of a few Bronsted acid centers on V2O5 could lead to an increase of H2S yield among the products derived from the reaction with thiophene.

The reactionmechanism of dimethyl ether carbonylation to methyl acetate over mordenite was studied theoretically with periodic density functional theory calculations including dispersion forces and experimentally in a fixed bed flow reactor at pressures between 10 and 100 bar, dimethyl ether...... concentrations in CO between 0.2 and 2.0%, and at a temperature of 438 K. The theoretical study showed that the reaction of CO with surface methyl groups, the rate-limiting step, is faster in the eight-membered side pockets than in the twelve-membered main channel of the zeolite; the subsequent reaction...... of dimethyl ether with surface acetyl to form methyl acetate was demonstrated to occur with low energy barriers in both the side pockets and in the main channel. The present analysis has thus identified a path, where the entire reaction occurs favourably on a single site within the side pocket, in good...

The absorption of ultraviolet radiation by DNA may result in harmful genetic lesions that affect DNA replication and transcription, ultimately causing mutations, cancer, and/or cell death. We analyze the most abundant photochemical reaction in DNA, the cyclobutane thymine dimer, using hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) techniques and QM/MM nonadiabatic molecular dynamics. We find that, due to its double helix structure, DNA presents a free energy barrier between nonreactive and reactive conformations leading to the photolesion. Moreover, our nonadiabatic simulations show that most of the photoexcited reactive conformations return to standard B-DNA conformations after an ultrafast nonradiative decay to the ground state. This work highlights the importance of dynamical effects (free energy, excited-state dynamics) for the study of photochemical reactions in biological systems.

with carbon capture and storage (CCS) due to the high purity of CO2 emitted in the exhaust gas. Direct carbon (or coal) fuel cells (DCFCs) are directly fed with solid carbon to the anode chamber. The fuel cell converts the carbon at the anode and the oxygen at the cathode into electricity, heat and reaction...... is discussed on the fuel cell stack and system levels. The range of DCFC types can be roughly broken down into four fuel cell types: aqueous hydroxide, molten hydroxide, molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells. Emphasis is placed on the electrochemical reactions occurring at the anode and the proposed...... mechanism(s) of these reactions for molten carbonate, solid oxide and hybrid direct carbon fuel cells. Additionally, the criteria of choosing the ‘best’ DCFC technology is explored, including system design (continuous supply of solid fuel), performance (power density, efficiency), environmental burden...

A major goal of this research is to obtain an understanding of the molecular reaction dynamics of three and four atom chemical reactions using numerically accurate quantum dynamics. This work involves: (i) the development and/or improvement of accurate quantum mechanical methods for the calculation and analysis of the properties of chemical reactions (e.g., rate constants and product distributions), and (ii) the determination of accurate dynamical results for selected chemical systems, which allow one to compare directly with experiment, determine the reliability of the underlying potential energy surfaces, and test the validity of approximate theories. This research emphasizes the use of recently developed time-dependent quantum mechanical methods, i.e. wave packet methods.

Under linear temperature increase condition, the thermal behavior, mechanism and kinetic parameters of the exothermic decomposition reaction of the title compound have been studied by means of DSC and IR. The initial stage of the mechanism was proposed. The empirical kinetic model function in differential form, apparent activation energy and pre-exponential constant of the exothermic decomposition reaction are α 0.526, 207.0 kJ·mol-1 and 1018.49 s-1, respectively. The critical temperature of thermal explosion of the compound is 252.87 ℃. The values of △S≠, △H≠ and △G≠ of the reaction are 128.4 J·mol-1·K-1, 218.9 kJ·mol-1 and 152.7 kJ·mol-1, respectively.

The mechanism of the IndolPhos-Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral olefins has been investigated by means of X-ray crystal structure determination, kinetic measurements, high-pressure NMR spectroscopy, and DFT calculations. The mechanistic study indicates that the reaction follows an

We study the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) mechanism on a Pt(1 1 1) surface using density functional theory calculations We find that at low overpotentials the surface is covered with a half dissociated water layer We estimate the barrier for proton transfer to this surface and the barrier for ...

Using animated computer-generated graphics to assist instruction has recently attracted the attention of educators and educational researchers. The specific focus of this study is to compare the influence of animated visuals with static visuals on college students' understanding of organic reactionmechanisms in chemistry. This study also focuses…

Geomechanical damage, such as fracturing of wellbore cement, can severely impact well integrity in CO2 storage fields. Chemical reactions between the cement and CO2-bearing fluids may subsequently alter the cement’s mechanical properties, either enhancing or inhibiting damage accumulation during ong

The mechanism of the Indol- Phos–Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral olefins has been investigated by means of X-ray crystal structure determination, kinetic measurements, high-pressure NMR spectroscopy, and DFT calculations. The mechanistic study indicates that the reaction follows a

The mechanism of the IndolPhos-Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral olefins has been investigated by means of X-ray crystal structure determination, kinetic measurements, high-pressure NMR spectroscopy, and DFT calculations. The mechanistic study indicates that the reaction follows an

The sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a major impediment to the economic use of hydrogen fuel cells in transportation. In this work, we report the full ORR reactionmechanism for Pt(111) based on Quantum Mechanics (QM) based Reactive metadynamics (RμD) simulations including explicit water to obtain free energy reaction barriers at 298 K. The lowest energy pathway for 4 e(-) water formation is: first, *OOH formation; second, *OOH reduction to H2O and O*; third, O* hydrolysis using surface water to produce two *OH and finally *OH hydration to water. Water formation is the rate-determining step (RDS) for potentials above 0.87 Volt, the normal operating range. Considering the Eley-Rideal (ER) mechanism involving protons from the solvent, we predict the free energy reaction barrier at 298 K for water formation to be 0.25 eV for an external potential below U = 0.87 V and 0.41 eV at U = 1.23 V, in good agreement with experimental values of 0.22 eV and 0.44 eV, respectively. With the mechanism now fully understood, we can use this now validated methodology to examine the changes upon alloying and surface modifications to increase the rate by reducing the barrier for water formation.

The performances of a Li-O2 battery depend on a complex interplay between the reactionmechanism at the cathode, the chemical structure and the morphology of the reaction products, and their spatial and temporal evolution; all parameters that, in turn, are dependent on the choice of the electrolyte. In an aprotic cell, for example, the discharge product, Li2O2, forms through a combination of solution and surface chemistries that results in the formation of a baffling toroidal morphology. In a solid electrolyte, neither the reactionmechanism at the cathode nor the nature of the reaction product is known. Here we report the full-cycle reaction pathway for Li-O2 batteries and show how this correlates with the morphology of the reaction products. Using aberration-corrected environmental transmission electron microscopy (TEM) under an oxygen environment, we image the product morphology evolution on a carbon nanotube (CNT) cathode of a working solid-state Li-O2 nanobattery and correlate these features with the electrochemical reaction at the electrode. We find that the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) on CNTs initially produces LiO2, which subsequently disproportionates into Li2O2 and O2. The release of O2 creates a hollow nanostructure with Li2O outer-shell and Li2O2 inner-shell surfaces. Our findings show that, in general, the way the released O2 is accommodated is linked to lithium-ion diffusion and electron-transport paths across both spatial and temporal scales; in turn, this interplay governs the morphology of the discharging/charging products in Li-O2 cells.

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Reusing phosphogypsum is to decompose and recycle Ca and sulfur. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer FactSage6.1 software was used to simulate the decomposition reactions. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Experiments had been taken with high sulfur concentration coal as reducing agent. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The reactionmechanism of CaS generation had been analysis, 1100 Degree-Sign C could be the best temperature for PG decomposition. - Abstract: FactSage6.1 software simulation and experiments had been used to analysis the reactionmechanism and influence factors for CaS generation during the process of phosphogypsum decomposition. Thermodynamic calculation showed that the reaction for CaS generation was very complex and CaS was generated mainly through solid-solid reaction and gas-solid reaction. The proper CO and CO{sub 2} have benefit for improving the decomposition effects of phosphogypsum and reducing the generation of CaS at 1100 Degree-Sign C. Using high sulfur concentration coal as reducer, the proper reaction conditions to control the generation of CaS were: the coal particle size was between 60 mesh and 100 mesh, reaction temperature was above 1100 Degree-Sign C and the heating rate was 5 Degree-Sign C/min. Experimental and theoretical calculation indicated that the concentration of CaS was only ten percents in the solid product at 1100 Degree-Sign C, which is favorable for the further cement producing using solid production.

The gas phase reactionmechanism of F2 + 2HBr = 2HF + Br2 has been investigated by (U)MP2 at 6-311G** level, and a series of four-center and three-center transition states have been obtained. The reactionmechanism was achieved by comparing the activation energy of seven reaction paths, i.e. the dissociation energy of F2 is less than the activation energy of the bimolecular elementary reaction F2 + HBr → HF + BrF. Thus it is theoretically proved that the title reaction occurs more easily inthe free radical reaction with three medium steps.

In a recent article [ J. Chem. Phys. 2015 , 143 , 094106 ], we introduced a novel graph-based sampling scheme which can be used to generate chemical reaction paths in many-atom systems in an efficient and highly automated manner. The main goal of this work is to demonstrate how this approach, when combined with direct kinetic modeling, can be used to determine the mechanism and phenomenological rate law of a complex catalytic cycle, namely cobalt-catalyzed hydroformylation of ethene. Our graph-based sampling scheme generates 31 unique chemical products and 32 unique chemical reaction pathways; these sampled structures and reaction paths enable automated construction of a kinetic network model of the catalytic system when combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations of free energies and resultant transition-state theory rate constants. Direct simulations of this kinetic network across a range of initial reactant concentrations enables determination of both the reactionmechanism and the associated rate law in an automated fashion, without the need for either presupposing a mechanism or making steady-state approximations in kinetic analysis. Most importantly, we find that the reactionmechanism which emerges from these simulations is exactly that originally proposed by Heck and Breslow; furthermore, the simulated rate law is also consistent with previous experimental and computational studies, exhibiting a complex dependence on carbon monoxide pressure. While the inherent errors of using DFT simulations to model chemical reactivity limit the quantitative accuracy of our calculated rates, this work confirms that our automated simulation strategy enables direct analysis of catalytic mechanisms from first principles.

Scaffold tissue engineering strategies for repairing and replacing soft tissue aim to improve reconstructive and corrective surgical techniques whose limitations include suboptimal mechanical properties, fibrous capsule formation and volume loss due to graft resorption. An effective tissue engineering strategy requires a scaffolding material with low elastic modulus that behaves similarly to soft tissue, which has been characterized as a nonlinear elastic material. The material must also have the ability to be manufactured into specifically designed architectures. Poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) is a thermoset elastomer that meets these criteria. We hypothesize that the mechanical properties of PGS can be modulated through curing condition and architecture to produce materials with a range of stiffnesses. To evaluate this hypothesis, we manufactured PGS constructs cured under various conditions and having one of two architectures (solid or porous). Specimens were then tensile tested according to ASTM standards and the data were modeled using a nonlinear elastic Neo-Hookean model. Architecture and testing conditions, including elongation rate and wet versus dry conditions, affected the mechanical properties. Increasing curing time and temperature led to increased tangent modulus and decreased maximum strain for solid constructs. Porous constructs had lower nonlinear elastic properties, as did constructs of both architectures tested under simulated physiological conditions (wetted at 37 °C). Both solid and porous PGS specimens could be modeled well with the Neo-Hookean model. Future studies include comparing PGS properties to other biological tissue types and designing and characterizing PGS scaffolds for regenerating these tissues.

To model the dark-oxidation mechanism of organic polymers, the reactions of the corresponding model compounds, including cumene, methyl 2-methylbutyrate, methyl methacrylate and methylacrylic acid, with triplet O 2 molecule, have been studied by performing density functional theory calculations at the UB3LYP/6-31G(d) level. The calculated results show that these model compounds can be oxygenated by O 2 via an H-abstract mechanism. The structures of initial contact charge transfer complexes, transition states, intermediates of cage-like pairs of radicals, and final hydro-peroxides involved in the reactions have been shown in details. The present results are expected to provide a general guidance for understanding the dark-oxidation mechanism of organic polymers.

A theoretically investigation has been performed to study the effects of thermal radiation and chemical reaction on MHD velocity slip boundary layer flow and melting heat transfer of nanofluid induced by a nonlinear stretching sheet. The Brownian motion and thermophoresis effects are incorporated in the present nanofluid model. A set of proper similarity variables is used to reduce the governing equations into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. An efficient numerical method like Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg-45 order is used to solve the resultant equations for velocity, temperature and volume fraction of the nanoparticle. The effects of different flow parameters on flow fields are elucidated through graphs and tables. The present results have been compared with existing one for some limiting case and found excellent validation.

The mechanisms of reactions between CCl3OO· radical and quercetin, rutin and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) have been studied using pulse radiolytic technique. It is suggested that the electron transfer reaction is the main reaction between CCl3OO· radical and rutin, EGCG, but there are two main pathways for the reaction of CCl3OO· radical with quercetin, one is the electron transfer reaction, the other is addition reaction. The reaction rate constants were determined. It is proved that quercetin and rutin are better CCl3OO· radical scavengers than EGCG.

Aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) has been extensively studied as a solvent for CO2 capture, yet the underlying reactionmechanisms are still not fully understood. Combined ab initio and classical molecular dynamics simulations were performed to revisit and identify key elementary reactions and intermediates in 25-30 wt% aqueous MEA with CO2, by explicitly taking into account the structural and dynamic effects. Using static quantum chemical calculations, we also analyzed in more detail the fundamental interactions involved in the MEA-CO2 reaction. We find that both the CO2 capture by MEA and solvent regeneration follow a zwitterion-mediated two-step mechanism; from the zwitterionic intermediate, the relative probability between deprotonation (carbamate formation) and CO2 removal (MEA regeneration) tends to be determined largely by the interaction between the zwitterion and neighboring H2O molecules. In addition, our calculations clearly demonstrate that proton transfer in the MEA-CO2-H2O solution primarily occurs through H-bonded water bridges, and thus the availability and arrangement of H2O molecules also directly impacts the protonation and/or deprotonation of MEA and its derivatives. This improved understanding should contribute to developing more comprehensive kinetic models for use in modeling and optimizing the CO2 capture process. Moreover, this work highlights the importance of a detailed atomic-level description of the solution structure and dynamics in order to better understand molecular mechanisms underlying the reaction of CO2 with aqueous amines.

Full Text Available Despite intense study by physicists and biologists, we do not fully understand the unsteady aerodynamics that relate insect wing morphology and kinematics to lift generation. Here, we formulate a force partitioning method (FPM and implement it within a computational fluid dynamic model to provide an unambiguous and physically insightful division of aerodynamic force into components associated with wing kinematics, vorticity, and viscosity. Application of the FPM to hawkmoth and fruit fly flight shows that the leading-edge vortex is the dominant mechanism for lift generation for both these insects and contributes between 72-85% of the net lift. However, there is another, previously unidentified mechanism, the centripetal acceleration reaction, which generates up to 17% of the net lift. The centripetal acceleration reaction is similar to the classical inviscid added-mass in that it depends only on the kinematics (i.e. accelerations of the body, but is different in that it requires the satisfaction of the no-slip condition, and a combination of tangential motion and rotation of the wing surface. Furthermore, the classical added-mass force is identically zero for cyclic motion but this is not true of the centripetal acceleration reaction. Furthermore, unlike the lift due to vorticity, centripetal acceleration reaction lift is insensitive to Reynolds number and to environmental flow perturbations, making it an important contributor to insect flight stability and miniaturization. This force mechanism also has broad implications for flow-induced deformation and vibration, underwater locomotion and flows involving bubbles and droplets.

An unsteady shock-induced combustion (SIC) is characterized by the regularly oscillating combustion phenomenon behind the shock wave supported by the blunt projectile flying around the speed of Chapman-Jouguet detonation wave. The SIC is the coupling phenomenon between the hypersonic flow and the chemical kinetics, but the effects of chemical kinetics have been rarely reported. We compared hydrogen-air reactionmechanisms for the shock-induced combustion to demonstrate the importance of considering the reactionmechanisms for such complex flows. Seven hydrogen-air reactionmechanisms were considered, those available publically and used in other researches. As a first step in the comparison of the hydrogen combustion, ignition delay time of hydrogen-oxygen mixtures was compared at various initial conditions. Laminar premixed flame speed was also compared with available experimental data and at high pressure conditions. In addition, half-reaction length of ZND (Zeldovich-Neumann-Doering) detonation structure accounts for the length scale in SIC phenomena. Oscillation frequency of the SIC is compared by running the time-accurate 3rd-order Navier-Stokes CFD code fully coupled with the detailed chemistry by using four levels of grid resolutions.

Xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR), a complex flavoprotein, catalyzes the metabolic reactions leading from hypoxanthine to xanthine and from xanthine to urate, and both reactions take place at the molybdenum cofactor. The enzyme is a target of drugs for therapy of gout or hyperuricemia. We review the chemical nature and reactionmechanisms of the molybdenum cofactor of XOR, focusing on molybdenum-dependent reactions of actual or potential medical importance, including nitric oxide (NO) synthesis. It is now generally accepted that XOR transfers the water-exchangeable -OH ligand of the molybdenum atom to the substrate. The hydroxyl group at OH-Mo(IV) can be replaced by urate, oxipurinol and FYX-051 derivatives and the structures of these complexes have been determined by xray crystallography under anaerobic conditions. Although formation of NO from nitrite or formation of xanthine from urate by XOR ischemically feasible, it is not yet clear whether these reactions have any physiological significance since the reactions are catalyzed at a slow rate even under anaerobic conditions.